Do we understand the depth of God's love for us? We read the many verses in the Bible that describe its greatness, but deep within our heart, do we really understand and feel the depth of God's love? Our faith cannot be based on just pure knowledge alone, neither can it be built around feelings. It must be a combination of both- the mind's understanding, and the heart's response. We can easily describe how wonderful God's love is, and quote the Bible on it. But do we really, deep within our hearts, feel and understand it? I say this because I believe that if we really did, our lives would not be what they are now.
Think about the worst sin you have ever committed. Think about those times you have wilfully disobeyed Him. When I think back upon my own life I am so deeply ashamed to see the depth of my own sin, and the wickedness of my own heart. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Jeremiah 17:9. And the worst thing is that even after being forgiven, my heart again and again slips back into sin and pride, with astonishing speed.
One thing we must never do is to deny this. John the Baptist preached, "The time is fulfulled, and the kingdom of God is at hand:
repent ye, and believe the gospel." Mark 1:15. To repent we must face our sin and recognise how deep it runs. Perhaps Satan has dulled our senses and fed us a set of false, diminished standards; it is no wonder that the world today has such a warped, perverted sense of what is right. There are even people who believe that there is no such thing as sin. Yet a simple comparison of our lives to the three chapters of Matthew 5-7, Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, would show us how deep our sin runs. Some of us deeper than others, perhaps, but all have sinned.
It is only when we come to see how wicked and unfaithful we are, that we can begin to understand how deep God's love is for His people. Even the worst sin that you and I have committed, He took upon Himself when He endured silently the lashes of the cruel whips. The unfaithfulness that we are guilty of, He took upon Himself when He was nailed to the Cross. And the wicked nature that runs so deep in us, He took upon Himself when He suffered and died on Calvary. Four thousand years of disobedience and sin, and still God loves His people with the same everlasting love (Jer. 31:3). Not only does He forgive our sins, He opens the door to a life lived with Him, a life full of unspeakeable joy and peace, and an eternity beside Him. Take a while to reflect on how deep this love really is!
And why do I say that our lives can never be the same again? When we consider the depth of God's love for us, are we living our lives in a way that reflects gratitude for that love? Again when I look back on my own life, I am so deeply ashamed that despite the knowledge of God's love, my life still reflects so much of the old life- sin, unfaithfulness, pursuit of other things besides God. Hear the words of the song
The Wondrous Cross-
Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were a present far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all
Such a love! Even if truly every single breath of our lives, every waking moment, were dedicated to Him, it would be insufficient to repay the debt of love that we owe our Saviour. To that we must aspire, but in truth even of that we are incapable! But God's love does not end there; He does not expect us to repay Him. He will not judge us on how well we have lived our lives, and love us in different measures. No, His Love is the same forever. Such a love!
The beautiful thing is, we do not change our lives in order to receive His love, a common misconception many non-Christians have.
His love changes our lives. When we begin to grasp the depth of His love, all other earthly pursuits pale in comparison. We will learn to hate sin like never before, and love righteousness. We will want, very naturally, to dedicate every minute of our lives to Him. We will want to shout His love from the mountaintops, to every nation, every people. Too extreme? Too radical? Nothing is too radical in the light of God's love. And as we respond as radically as we can, God's love will become even more real and beautiful to us as we are filled with the knowledge of Him, to the point that His love is our all, our everything.
I am so deeply humbled when I realise how far I am from that. But I pray that the power of God's love will drive me relentlessly onwards to seek Him, and I pray that it will do the same for you.
