There are countless reasons that God the Father loves His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. One in particular applies directly to us, and must surely cause us to love Him also.
"Therefore doth my Father love Me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again" (John 10:17).
"We love Him because He first loved us" (I John 4:19).
Our Savior's willingness to sacrifice Himself to fulfill the Father's will and secure our redemption draws us into a mutual bond of affection with He who is now our Father also. The Lord Jesus is the chief delight of Heaven, and He is the chief delight of redeemed hearts. He is faithful both to God the Father and to us. We draw near to the hearts of both the Father and the Son as the Holy Spirit leads us to contemplate the wonder of Christ and His love that "passeth knowledge" (Ephesians 3:19). We see the Father's love for His Son, the Son's love in response, and the wondrous gift of grace for which the Lord Jesus prayed just before He went to the cross:
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one" (John 17:20-22).
"One in us." Of all the Scriptural summits that ascend into the heavenlies far beyond our vision, none are loftier than these three words. "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us" (Romans 5:5). Indeed, of all that God bestows upon us in Christ, His triune heart of unselfish devotion to others is perhaps the greatest gift. First He directed His love toward us. Then it enveloped us in grace when we believed in the Lord Jesus. Finally, the entrance of the Holy Spirit into the innermost depths of our being made our hearts the very home of Divine love. We see and experience it so relatively little of the glory in our present existence (although the firstfruits can be overwhelming), but what must eternity hold as "one in us" becomes vibrantly and continually realized? We cannot know, but of this we can be sure: a Father's love for His Son will perfectly unite with the love of the redeemed for their Lord, as revealed in us by the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus will be loved as never before, again, as the chief delight of both Heaven and of our hearts. He is worthy of such devotion, and forever will not be long enough for the Father and for us to bless the name of Jesus.
"He that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father.(John 14:21)
No comments:
Post a Comment