The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Others"
God has existed from "everlasting," and will exist "to everlasting" (Psalm 90:2). Of He alone can this be said, a marvel of eternality and infinity beyond full comprehension, word, and explanation.
Without minimizing such glory, a greater truth presents itself in the pages of Scripture.
"God is love… charity (love) seeketh not its own" (I John 4:8; I Corinthians 13:5).
What kind of God has always been, and will always be? This constitutes the greater inquiry for which forever will not be long enough to fully answer. "The love of Christ passeth knowledge" (Ephesians 3:19). The Apostles John and Paul unite in the statements above to reveal that a perfectly unselfish Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have forever been, and will forever be. Indeed, no egotistical thought, emotion, word, or deed has ever been found in the heart, mind, and way of our Creator and Redeemer. No selfishness exists in Him, as the Lord Jesus so beautifully communicated by word, and exhibited by life:
"No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared (revealed) Him… He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father" (John 1:18; 14:9)
The son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to give His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28).
To see Christ was to see God. To see Christ was to see who and what God is in His character and nature, namely, unselfish devotion to others, regardless of the sacrifice necessary to perform it. This ultimately led to a cross where God gave His beloved Son to suffer and die for His enemies (Romans 5:10). Rather than the judgment all deserve that would have led to God's wrath executed upon us, our Heavenly Father gave the Lord Jesus as a sacrifice for us to suffer His wrath. Not a trace of selfishness in such a God can possibly exist as the darkness of Calvary serves as the brightest and most beautiful illumination of our Lord's love. "God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
We pray to a perfectly unselfish Being. The Bible we read was inspired by the Holy Spirit devoted to the will of the Father, the glory of the Son, and the blessing of our hearts. We seek to understand Scriptural truth in the light of the sacrificial Heart that gave it. We marvel at the Lord Jesus' lifetime of perfect devotion to God and others, culminating in the cross where He died for us. We even do well to consider God's righteous and holy judgments and wrath that no less proceed from His unselfish character than does His grace. "I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God" (Ezekiel 18:32).
When one day we "see Him as He is," countless wonders will thrill our hearts and overwhelm our minds (I John 3:2). None will transcend the realization that we have entered the direct presence of a purely, pristinely, and perfectly unselfish Lord. Abiding prints of nails on His hands and feet will tell us this, along with countless other expressions of a character so beautiful that even eternity will not allow our full discovery. The Bible often states that "the Lord is good." It never, however, attempts to tell us how good. Such an infinite measure cannot be explained, defined, or written. Not a trace of selfishness can be found in the living and true God, but rather a measureless abundance of unselfish devotion to others. Such glory presently stills our hearts in wonder, and will forever thrill our hearts in the love that "passeth knowledge" and "seeketh not its own."
"Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savor."
(Ephesians 5:2)
Weekly Memory Verse
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die, but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
(Romans 8:13)
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