God’s immeasurable love for ‘us’…
Over recent weeks I have been watching a series called “Blue Planet II”, narrated by David Attenborough. This past week’s edition focused on the fish life around the Coral Reefs with the Great Barrier Reef being one of the most prominent ones. God’s creation is just magnificent, and the variety of fish and corals and underwater plant life is just incredible, mind boggling!
But God’s immeasurable love in sending His most beloved Son was not for the beauty displayed in the Great Barrier Reef. God’s love, as seen in Jesus Christ, was given first and foremost for mankind. That’s us! And who is ‘us?’ ‘Us’ are all people that live on this earth. That includes our neighbours. It includes the Muslim, or Hindu, or the Aborigine living up the street. Remember, God so loved this world!
And what was so ‘beautiful’ about ‘us’ that God would send His only beloved Son? Zip! Zero! In fact, Scripture reminds us that God sent His Son to be born, live and die, for sinners, indeed, while we were still enemies of God. That act is the definition of immeasurable love. It may be conceivable that a man would lay down his life for a friend, but for his enemies, highly unlikely!
But God loved ‘us’ and gave His only Son. Andrew Kuyvenhoven comments, “It may be possible to give without love, but it is impossible to love without giving.” Isn’t that what we also do on special occasions? We love our parents, spouse, children, grandchildren, friends and so we give. We don’t consider it a burden to give to our loved ones. We love them and so we give willingly. The recipients of our ‘giving’ know we love them when we are willing to give, even when it hurts. And the recipients of our giving usually accept the gift because they want to show their appreciation to the giver.
At this time of the year, we appreciate the gifts we may receive from others, but our primary focus as Christians is not to forget the greater ‘gift’ God in his immeasurable love has given for us. This gift is given, not just for a few special people, but for all who will receive the gift. We may not have the ability to receive this gift in our own strength, but we do have the responsibility to accept this gift as our Saviour, for that is the way God has presented Him to us by His Word and Spirit. And the promise is that all who receive the gift of God’s Son by faith will not perish but will enjoy eternal life. Please pray that many will continue to enjoy and hear about God’s immeasurable love to ‘us’ this festive season. JZ.