Love is a very strong word, and most time we don’t fully understand it as humans. We throw it about without fully understanding it. However, we have felt it at least once in our lives. That parent who was there when you were down, that friend who helped you when times were rough, that spouse who took care of you and supported you when nobody did. It is an amazing feeling, and it can mean different things to different people.

A common statement we hear both Christians and unbelievers as is “Jesus loves you”. However, it means different things to us both.

I once heard a statement which went, “There is nothing we can do to make God love us less and nothing we can do to make Him love us more”. I was so confused. I understood the fact that He could never love us less, but not the part that He could never love us more. I thought He had to love Christians more than sinners, and every time we do good, He’d love us even more! But then, the person continued and mentioned this verse:

Psalm 103 verse 8:
“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.”

This verse is telling us of the Lord’s character. It describes His love as abounding. In Lamentations 3 verse 22, it describes His love as steadfast and says that it never ceases! This means that no matter what we do, God can never stop loving us. I then thought of John 3 verse 16, where it said, “For God so loved the world…” not just Christians. He loves us all equally.

Then I thought, if He loves us all equally, what’s in it for Christians? If I lie and if I don’t, God still loves me, so why not lie when convenient? The thing I love about the bible is that it causes questions, and answers them with an “ahhhh” moment when everything becomes clearer.

I then continued reading. And John 3 vs 16 then says, “.. for whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life”. Wow! That was my “ahh” moment. So God loves us all that He sent His only begotten Son to die for us, but only those who believe in Him will not perish. The person then continued to go to Psalm 103 verse 13

Psalm 103 verse 13:
“As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.”

Therefore, as Christians, we get to experience God’s love deeply. He loves everyone, but only those who fear Him get to experience His love.

Now, let's try and understand this love. Oh wait…..

Ephesians 3 verse 19:
"...and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

We can’t!! This love passes all understanding! We are so lucky. We mere mortals, who have sinned more times than we can count, get to experience a love so great that it passes all understanding. This has to be the best news ever! If we fear God and do His will and believe that Jesus died for our sins, we get to experience such great love. Thank you Lord!

Now, this verse may seem to contradict itself. Why say “and to know” when it passes all understanding?

Well, in this verse, Paul is praying for the church in Ephesus, and he prays that they know the love, even though they cannot fully grasp it. Therefore, as Christians, it is important that we develop an appreciation of this love.

So, in this blog post, I will be trying as much as possible to portray how I see God’s love for humanity.

The Ultimate Love Move!

Jesus Christ, the Prince of peace, the Son of Man, came down and died for humanity. We have all heard the story and maybe watched the movie (which I highly recommend you re-watch). However, let’s look at scripture, because there is more to that story than meets the eye.

CONTEXT

2 Corinthians 5 verse 17:
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

This verse made me dumbfounded for a little while. I read it and memorized it that day.

This verse tells us that perfection died for imperfection. The only human to have never sinned died like a sinner, for the sinners!. So you can imagine if it were me doing it, I’d probably not go through with it, cause I’d be thinking that I have not done anything wrong, I have all the power to stop this, do you know who my father is? and all that stuff. However, an excerpt from the book of Hebrews:

Hebrews 12 verse 2:
"...For the joy set before Him, he endured the cross..."

He was thinking about you and me, and the joy His death would bring. A truly selfless act. This is love that passes ALL understanding.

THE DEATH

The death of Jesus is a joyful event in history. However, it was a horrific event to experience. Look at how Prophet Isaiah described it in Isaiah 53 verse 5

Isaiah 53 verse 5:
“But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.”

In this verse, the prophet says that He was pierced for OUR transgressions, crushed for OUR iniquities, and wounded so that WE might be healed.

Not Him, Not God the Father, Not God the Holy Spirit. WE. Imagine a love so great that an almighty being, who is currently seated at the right hand of glory, had for mere mortals, that He came down as flesh and lived a perfect life only to get slaughtered and killed for something that he didn’t do and for a cause that wouldn’t benefit Him. It wasn’t for the benefit of the One who sent Him, but that of people who lived imperfect lives. He even died for those who spat at Him, the Pharisees and the false accusers! Great is the love of the Lord!

Let's look at verses 7 and 10

Verse 7:
“He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.”
Verse 10:
“Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.”

We all remember the transfiguration, right? Where Jesus, in the presence of his apostles, transformed into His supernatural being with his face as bright as the sun

Matthew 17 verse 1-2:
1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.

2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.

This shows us that Jesus had the power to transform into His supernatural form at will. So in the midst of His sufferings, why didn’t he do so? Because he loved us!

The cool part about this verse is that He remained silent! How many times have we said “I don’t deserve this”, “I haven’t done anything wrong”, “My father is this…”, “My mother is that….”? However, Jesus, the Son of God, the worthy Lamb, the prince of peace, the only living being worthy to open up the scroll of God, KEPT SILENT!

Let me explain further

John 1 verse 14:
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Hebrews 4 verse 15:
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”

So, what you are saying is that a man made up of flesh and blood, like you and I, was tempted, yet lived with no sin, and yet died like a sinner!

It's like sentencing an innocent man for murdering someone. It doesn’t make any sense!

“…love which passes all understanding…”

No matter how hard I try, I cannot fully explain this love in one single post, or two, or ten! It surpasses all understanding and knowledge.

LIVING IN THE LOVE OF GOD

The love of God is there for all: Christians, Muslims, Atheists, Homosexuals, you and I. However, only those who fear God experience it. And we can only experience it by living in Christ. Accepting Jesus as your lord and Savior is the key to unlocking the door that leads to an experience in God’s love.

May we all know and experience this love of Christ, in Jesus' Name.

In my next post, we’ll be talking about Surrender.

By His Grace 🙏🙏