The Love of God

Galatians 3:13
"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us."

Martin Luther wrote on this passage: "Learn to know Christ and him crucified. Learn to sing to him and say, 'Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness. I am your sin. You have taken upon yourself what is mine and given me what is yours. You became what you were not, so that I might become what I was not'." What a great and wonderful exchange! Was there ever such love???

Volumes have been written by theologians and greater thinkers than I am, but isn't the love of God an amazing topic to consider. John in his gospel (chapter 21, verse 25) writes: "Jesus did many other things as well. If everyone of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written."

The Love of God has a verse that sums it up:

Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skies of parchment made
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade

To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry 
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky

Think about the people of Israel. Although they were rescued out of slavery in Egypt and saw God do amazing miracles, time and time again they strayed from God and went back to worshiping idols. God called their idolatry adultery. They forsook him over and over again. And God over and over again, rescued them. He never forsook them or stopped loving them. It is amazing to think about. I would have given them up after a second or third time. But God never gave them up. NEVER! Then how can we doubt his love for us, because we are as unfaithful as the Israelites were. We forget God, we live our lives as "functional atheists." BUT after Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice of his own blood for us, God tells us in Romans 8 (verse 39) that nothing - NOTHING - can separate us from his love. His love is powerful, eternal, faithful.

1 Corinthians 13:13 says, "These three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." Love lasts forever. When we see our Lord face to face, we will no longer live by faith and our hope will be realized. But love will remain - stronger than ever.

J.I. Packer in Your Father Loves You, the September 7th reading, writes: "By giving his love to us, God has voluntarily bound up his own final happiness with ours. He has in effect resolved that henceforth for all eternity his happiness shall be conditional on ours. Thus God saves not only for his glory but also for his gladness!"


Phyllis