March 8th, 2023 – Late Wednesday Afternoon
“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.” ~1 John 4:9-10
‘How deep the Father’s love for us?
How vast beyond all measure?
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss?
The Father turns His face away;
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory.’ ~ Stuart Townend
It is good to be overwhelmed by the love of God and to remember, once again, how He made it known to us. You and I have become His treasured children because He sent His perfect and holy Son to be the atoning sacrifice (propitiation) for our sins. We have become His precious possessions, purchased with the blood of His own dear Son. And all of this was through no account of our own, of course; we were helpless, dead in our sin, and impossibly separated from God until He acted on our behalf and sent Jesus to carry our sin upon Himself and bear our punishment.
To further magnify God’s love for us in Christ, we are told that “God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.” We were dead in sin – literally…physically living as dead men (and women) – and destined for eternal damnation, but now we have been given the opportunity to live – truly and fully. We were captives to sin and death, bound by chains that no human could ever break, but now…now we are alive forevermore in Christ Jesus!
This brings us to two sets of questions: 1. Are we knowing and rejoicing in the love of God still more and more? Is His manifestation of love in Christ Jesus an overwhelming and awesome reality to us? Does that knowledge propel us forward in godliness and love for others? 2. Are we living as though we are alive in Christ? Are we putting to death the flesh and its deeds and putting on the new qualities of Christlikeness? Are we living in freedom from sin – its condemnation, its power, and its alurement? Are we living as children of the living God?
Beloved, praise the Lord for His love! Praise Him for adopting us as His own precious children through the sacrifice of His dear Son! Let us live today in that reality, knowing His love more and allowing Him to pour it through us to others.