The gospel does not tell us to look to the cross with the
thought that now, finally, God can love us. The message of the cross is not
that Jesus makes us good enough for God to love. The gospel does not tell us
that now that we are good God can love us. All such thoughts are simply and
joyfully… WRONG!!!
The gospel tells us that, God so loved his children spread
out in every nation of the world, that he gave us his only Son, the only Word
proceeding from the Father, so that everyone who believes in Jesus Christ, can
now have eternal life in the eternal love of God.
The gospel tells us that God demonstrated his love for us
in this, that at the very time that we were still sinners, Christ Jesus died
for us. This does not say that God demonstrated that he could start loving us
when Jesus died for us. It tells us that, at the very time that we were still
sinners, unable to do anything good to please God, while deserving of the
judgment, wrath, and condemnation of God against our sin, that is when God
demonstrated, or showed, or put on display “his love”, the love he already had
for us prior to the death of Jesus Christ for sinners.
So, when God tells his beloved children, “I have loved you
with an everlasting love,” (Jeremiah 31:3) he means “everlasting” in the
God-sized way that fills the hearts of his eternally loved children with the
mind-boggling wonder that such a thing could be true.
“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of
David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11)
© 2013 Monte Vigh ~
Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise
noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible,
English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway
Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)
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