Another Ninety-Five
T H E S I S # 94
The love of Christ for the non-christian far surpasses the love of any man or angel for Christ.
1 John 4:8: God is love.
John didn’t merely say, “God is loving.” He said, “God is love.”
Love is what God is. Since God is immeasurable, love is immeasurable. Since God is eternal, love is eternal.
God doesn’t do anything in part. He loves fully. To be loved by God is to be loved immeasurably and eternally 100%.
No human could adequately relate the love that the Father, “the Son of His love”, and the Holy Spirit have for you. And yet if we search Scripture we might get glimpses….
1 Samuel 17:34,35: David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth.”
There is a love bond between a kind shepherd and the sheep in his flock. David risked his life for the sake of a lamb. When we see love in action we see God, for “God is love”.
1 Samuel 17:36: “Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.”
Here we see a beautiful depiction of a young man’s love for his God. David was righteously indignant against a foreigner defying his God and deriding God’s people.
Matthew 10:29 (NLT): “What is the price of two sparrows – one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.”
How can the Father be mindful of countless of birds? We only know He can be and is. As He cares for each bird individually, He cares for you individually.
Isaiah 49:15 (NLT): “Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!”
The love of a nursing mother is but a hint of the love God has for you. A child’s love for his puppy does not compare. Nor does the most loving wife’s affection for the most lovable husband.
John 3:16: God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.
God had one Son and He gave Him to you (and everyone else), knowing His Son would suffer Calvary, knowing His Innocent would bear your sins “in His own body on the tree”. That’s love.
John 1:3: All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
Jesus Christ made you. You are a creation of perfection. You are an outgrowth of love, for Jesus is love. You are who you are because He is who He is. The Lord’s love for you has never decreased since you were first conceived, though you may have sinned grievously. He only loves fully. He has no ability to love less than 100%.
John 15:13: “Greater love has no man than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
Jesus “lay down” His life that you could be saved, if you choose to be saved, from the consequences of your sins. And more….
Romans 8:16,17: The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.
You are included in His family. His Father becomes your Father. You actually become an heir of God. What more can He give?
1 John 3:1: Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!
Yes, behold.