For God so loved the world….
STOP!
Just that sentence encompasses so much. A few weeks ago I was with a friend who made a comment that broke my heart. “I am scared to go to church. What if it burns down when I walk in because I am a __________________________?” Now you fill in the blank… it can be whatever.
…..because I am a addict.
…because I am a liar
… because I am a thief
…. because I am a Jew
…because I am gay….
Because…
IT DOESN’T MATTER!
At first that fear sounds silly. But it’s a legit fear. How many of us have felt, or feel, unworthy of the kingdom? Feel like we are not good enough, not pretty enough, not perfect enough? Well the harsh reality is…you’re right. We aren’t good enough, pretty enough, perfect enough. We fall short daily of being worthy of the kingdom. Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”
This is Easter weekend and the reality is that “God so loved the world that he gave his only son” for all of us, every single one of us!
In the book When God Weeps, Steven Estes and Joni Eareckson word the story like this…
“The face that Moses had begged to see- was forbidden to see-was slapped bloody (Exodus 33:19-20). The thorns that God had sent to curse the earth’s rebellion now twisted around his own brow…
“On your back with you!” One raises a mallet to sink in the spike. But the soldier’s heart must continue pumping as he readies the prisoner’s wrist. Someone must sustain the soldier’s life minute by minute, for no man has this power on his own. Who supplies breath to his lungs? Who gives energy to his cells? Who holds his molecules together? Only by the Son do “all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17). The victim wills that the soldier live on-he grants the warriors continued existence. The man swings.
As the man swings, the Son recalls how he and the Father first designed themedial nerve of the human forearm- the sensations it would be capable of. The design proves flawless-the nerves perform exquisitely. “Up you go!” They lift the cross. God is on display in his underwear and can scarcely breathe.
But these pains are a mere warm-up to his other and growing dread. He begins to feel a foreign sensation. Somewhere during this day an unearthly foul odor began to waft, not around his nose, but his heart. He feels dirty. Human wickedness starts to crawl upon his spotless being- the living excrement from our souls. The apple of his Father’s eye turns brown with rot.
His Father! He must face his Father like this!
From heaven the Father now rouses himself like a lion disturbed, shakes his mane, and roars against the shriveling remnant of a man hanging on a cross. Never has the Son seen the Father look at him so, never felt even the least of his hot breath. But the roar shakes the unseen world and darkens the visible sky. The Son does not recognize these eyes.
“Son of Man! Why have you behaved so? You have cheated, lusted, stolen, gossiped-murdered, envied hated, lied. You have cursed, robbed over spent, overeaten-fornicated, disobeyed, embezzled and blasphemed. Oh, the duties you have shirked, the children you have abandoned! Who has ever so ignored the poor, so played the coward, so belittled my name? Have you ever held you razor tongue? What a self-righteous, pitiful drunk- you who molest young boys, peddle killer drugs, travel in cliques, and mock your parents. Who gave you the boldness to rig elections, foment revolutions, torture animals, and worship demons? Does the list never end! Splitting families, raping virgins, acting smugly, playing the pimp-buying politicians, practicing exhortation, filming pornography, accepting bribes. You have burned down buildings, perfected terrorist tactics, founded false religions, traded in slaves-relishing each morsel and bragging about it all. I hate, loathe these things in you! Disgust for everything about you consumes me! Can you not feel my wrath?”
Of course the Son is innocent. He is blamelessness itself. The Father knows this. But the divine pair have an agreement, and the unthinkable must now take place. Jesus will be treated as if personally responsible for every sin ever committed.
The Father watches as his heart’s treasure, the mirror image of himself, sinks drowning into raw, liquid sin. Jehovah’s stored rage against humankind from every century explodes in a single direction.
“Father! Father! Why have you forsaken me?!”
But heaven stops its ears. The Son stares up at the One who cannot, who will not, reach down or reply.
The Trinity had planned it. The Son endured it. The Spirit enabled him. The Father rejected the Son whom he loved. Jesus, the God-man from Nazareth, perished. The Father accepted his sacrifice for sin and was satisfied. The Rescue was accomplished.”
Look how much the Father loves us… it literally is not fathomable. I cannot get over the fact that, “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
So this Easter season, and throughout the years, remember that ….you are loved, so loved that God humbled himself, came to Earth and suffered and died…but don’t leave Jesus on the cross because the Great news is that he conquered death! He rose from the gates of hell and entered into the kingdom of Heaven. He has made it possible for each of us to do the same thing… if only we choose to believe in him. Happy Easter!
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. Whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
I can only say Amen.
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