Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are the children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:1-3)
In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1 John 4:9-11)
Isaiah 53
Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
And they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.
I have been thinking lately on what a great love God has toward us, his children. We, who once were not the people of God, but are now His people! (1 Peter 2:10) “When I think that God, His Son not sparing, Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in.” (from the hymn, How Great Thou Art) When I think that those nails that pierced His hands were meant for me; the heartbreak through which the angel of God kept Him alive, belonged to me; the mocking and beating, the lower parts of the earth– I was the one who deserved it. How could the Son of God die for me? Why? It doesn’t make sense. What could He have gained? Could it be love? If so, all I ever thought was love is shattered.
Jesus, the altogether Holy One, did and spoke only as His Father directed, and doing so gained Him nothing but a few faithful followers, who so often doubted. He had nowhere to lay His head, zeal for His Father’s house consumed Him, and although He brought the message of truth, peace, and life, the people just wanted the “stuff.” Others were afraid. HE still followed His Father. He had one great purpose: to do His Father’s will, to be a ransom for sin, to redeem God’s people to God. He knew perfectly well what sufferings He had to endure; that all would abandon Him, that He would die and enter Hell for the people– for me, for everyone I see, for the tribes hidden on the earth, for the royalties of Europe. “He opened not His mouth.” He did not stand up for Himself. He went as a lamb to the slaughter; but He chose, He knew. He endured the abandonment, the mockery, the humiliation, the pain, the scourging, the thorns, the hill, the cross, even Hell. He cried out, “My God, why have you forsaken Me?” Think of it: God’s only Son, in whom He was well-pleased.
At the end, He cried out, “It is finished.” He had completed His purpose on earth. That was LOVE, though the people He was loving rejected it. Lord, teach me this love, me who so treasures honor, loyalty, devotion, purpose, strength. Teach me this love! This love, that appears morbid, but leads to resurrection, redemption, hope, life! And teach me to say, “I love You, Jesus!” Maker me a lamb, oh, make me a servant, a flame! A soldier at Your right hand. Lord, I want to give 100% of me to You, for Your glory, that Your name may be highly exalted among the nations. Because of Your Son, I now can call on You as “Father!”
For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’ ” (Romans 8:15)
We have been born of God, we abide in Him by keeping His commandments; we love Him because He first loved us! We are His, now. Let us follow in the steps of Jesus, returning in a small portion that Love which was so freely poured out for us!
For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:
“ Who committed no sin,
Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;
who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:21-25)
This song, “Lead Me to the Cross” from Hillsong, sums it all up.
For more Word for Wednesdays, see Yeah, Right…
