6-7-2017

  Good Morning All,

          Romans 5:8; “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.

     Love is probably the most sought after condition in the world.  There have probably been more songs, more books, more movies about love than any other single topic.  There is undying love, unrequited love, supposedly eternal love, unselfish love and also greedy love, self-centered love because after all; “all you need is love!”  So we want love.

    The problem is that we don’t really know true love in this world.  We may speak of love in many contexts but most people only love when they are loved in return.  We seem to have this idea of reciprocity.  I will love you if you will love me.  It seems to get ingrained in us when we are children.  If a group of other children exclude us, we are given the advice that “if they don’t like you then don’t like them”.  They’ll learn how much they are missing someday.”  Early on this kernel of reciprocity begins to work in us.  Even as we get older, we define our friends as the ones we can count on when we truly need something or someone.  We call out to those who can help.  We need to get something from them.

    Yet almost everyone has a point where they cannot or will not love someone else; the spouse who is unfaithful or the friend who always takes and never gives.  There is the one who says something unkind about you behind your back or even the child who engages in a completely reprehensible act can cause people to stop loving.  I know many will claim that they will hate the act but love the person.  I hope we never have to find out if that is possible but it does seem very, very difficult.

     That is why God’s love is so amazing and almost completely incomprehensible.  I understand loving someone who loves me but God loved us when we were his complete enemies.  We were in a state of total hatred toward God; yet he sent his Son to die for us.  Can you ever comprehend sending your son to willingly die for someone who hates you?  The sheer magnitude of this is overwhelming.  That is what God does for us, His love completely overwhelms us.  It inundates us; it overpowers us; it covers us with a grandeur beyond compare but above all God’s love saves us from our own wretched self.

    This truth of God’s love carries us even when we don’t know it or feel even when we feel abandoned, God’s love sustains us.  At the hour of our greatest weakness, His amazing love will always sustain us.  His grace will float us above all the pain of our trials.  He truly loves us; he shows us this by the fact that his incredible love for us goes back beyond our understanding.  While we were sinners; he died for us.

Wondrous God, the depth of your love is beyond us.  We flourish in it, we relish the taste of your mercy.  Guard us as we travel the path that you have laid out for us.  As the path seems hard and arduous give us that true peace that we have from you through your love.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace

Pastor Bret