His Unconditional Love!

"For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16


This past week and this week is turning out to be a trying time. With turning another year older, putting off a test for another week, and financial difficulties, life seems to be yet on another downward spiral. However, in the midst of this, I'm reminded of the important things in life. Friends who cared enough to want to be a part of my day, a test that I know I can conquer on God's strength, and money that He will provide. We all struggle, but it's good to re-focus on what is important in life and not focus on past mistakes and failures. And one very important thing that I would like to share with you this week, is God's enduring love.

To start with, what we see in the opening verse of this post, God's love was so great that He sent His Son to take our punishment upon Himself and die in our place. What human creator would make something out of clay and be willing to lay down his own life for it? Not many, if there be any. But God, Who made man out of simple dust, (Genesis 2:7), cared enough to save him by sacrificing His own Son. Man--who was made in God's image --was (and still is) a masterpiece.

Friend, you are a masterpiece; made in your heavenly Father's image. Look to Him not only in your weakest moments, but even when you feel the strongest. Because even what we think we are strong, there is always some circumstance that will hit us head on that we can't handle on our own strength.

Let's take a quick look at John 13:27-28,  "When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, 'Hurry and do what you're going to do.' None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant." In this example, we once again see God's love shining ever so brightly. As another commentary said to sum up the message of this verse, "We can see that Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen. He knew about Judas and about Peter [who would later deny Him], but He did not change the situation, nor did He stop loving them". Jesus knew their hearts and what they were going to do to Him in the very near future. But yet, He did not stop loving them. Just as before the earth was formed, God knew that sin would enter the world. He knew that Adam and Eve would eat the fruit. He's known for all eternity of each and every sin we would make. But even with knowing that His creation would turn against him, the plan didn't change. "In the same way, Jesus knows exactly what you will do to hurt Him. Yet He still loves you unconditionally and will forgive you whenever you ask Him." We may not intentionally hurt God, but we do. And as with friends, we make amends. We apologize and forgive and apologize and forgive. We move on from mistakes and press forward. But when we stumble again, we ask for forgiveness and pick ourselves back up.

Later on in the same chapter, Jesus says this: "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." Wow..what a challenge! Jesus knows that our love can never be like His; yet, He commands us to love others as He loves us. Another commentary revealed this thought, "To love others was not a new commandment (see Leviticus 19:18), but to love others as much as Christ loved others was revolutionary. Now we are to love others based on Jesus' sacrificial love for us. Such love will not only bring unbelievers to Christ; it will also keep believers strong and united in a world hostile to God. Jesus was a living example of God's love, as we are to be living examples of Jesus' love".

"Love is more than simply warm feelings; it is an attitude that reveals itself in action. How can we love others as Jesus loves us? By helping when it's not convenient, by giving when it hurts, by devoting energy to others' welfare rather than our own, by absorbing hurts from others without complaining or fighting back. This kind of loving is hard to do. That is why people notice when you do it and know you are empowered by a supernatural source." When the Holy Spirit lives in us, we are "empowered by a supernatural source" with a love that we cannot contain. As Kaleigh had written in her post about friends, it's important to put their needs ahead of our own. We are to encourage them in the Lord and build them up. Friendship, and relationships in general, are not based on "When I feel like helping you" or "When it seems like the right time..".  Just like God. God does not forgive us when He feels like it. God always welcomes us back into His fold and He wants us to be reconciled with Him. That's just how great God's love is. :)

In closing, I'm not going to write God's Love Letter to us out, but I hope that you want to read it when you have time or need the reminder of just how great His love is.

"The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee." ~Jeremiah 31:3

In Christ,
Anna