The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"The Skin Off His Back"
"God so loves to give that He spared not His beloved Son to suffering, forsakenness, and death in order to make possible the grace of freely giving us all things."
We all know people so generous that we say of them, "He would give you the shirt off his back." Of course, such magnanimity originates in the God who so "loveth a cheerful giver" because He is Himself the most cheerful of all givers (II Corinthians 9:7).
Of the Lord Jesus Christ, the affirmation could be taken even further: "He would give you the skin off His back." Scripture declares our Lord actually did so.
"The plowers plowed upon My back; they made long their furrows" (Psalm 129:3).
"Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged Him" (John 19:1).
Roman lictors inflicted grievous pain and injury upon the bodies of those on whom they executed sentences decreed by their superiors. Many unfortunate victims died of shock and blood loss before further punishments could be applied. This was not the case with the Lord Jesus, who survived scourging to be nailed unto the cross and an even greater suffering. Yes, of the Lord Jesus we can say that for our redemption, He gave the skin off His back.
Of all the character traits the Bible reveals to exist in God, generosity of heart and hand take a back seat to none.
"He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things" (Romans 8:32).
God loves to give. He loves to provide. He loves to bless His creation with all it needs to exist, survive, and thrive. Of course, He administers the abundance of such grace in accordance with His perfect wisdom and "the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Ephesians 3:11). He thus gives, provides, and blesses in ways that may challenge our understanding and perception. What we genuinely need may not accord with our Heavenly Father's perfect awareness regarding our hearts and lives. If we "ask amiss," He loves us enough to withhold our request for a fish that may actually be a serpent (James 4:3; Matthew 7:10). In no way, however, does this negate or minimize our Heavenly Father's generosity of heart and love for giving. Indeed, wise provision confirms how dear we are to God, and how He ever works for our best interests, as defined by His infinite understanding (Psalm 147:5).
We must perceive our Lord in the light of this glorious truth of character, nature, and way. Indeed, God so loves to give that He spared not His beloved Son to suffering, forsakenness, and death in order to make possible the grace of freely giving us all things. Every breath we will breathe in both time and eternity comes to us at a cost beyond any measure we will ever know. Had Christ not been in the heart of God "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world," and had He not fulfilled this sacrificial office on the cross, our Father would been required by His holiness to bring instant and complete judgment on Adam (Revelation 13:8). No generosity to creation could have been administered. However, because Christ died, God works in mercy and in righteous generosity. Yes, someone paid for the next breath you and I will breathe. "He giveth to all life and breath and all things" because the Prince of life breathed His last breath in sacrifice for our sins (Acts 17:25). Yes, He gave the skin off His back, and so very much more. This defines and most beautifully and solemnly reveals the infinite measure of God's generosity, and this is how we must perceive Him always.
"It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."
(Luke 12:32)
Weekly Memory Verse
I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)
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