For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. [John 3:16-17 (NLT)]
Although he was a man of faith, my father was not a man of laughter, tenderness, affection, or patience. When I was a child, my understanding of fear of the Lord was much like the fear I had of my father—fear that I never could be pretty, smart, talented, or good enough to earn either his or God’s love. Try as I might, I always seemed to fall short.
I couldn’t have been more than seven when I decided to run away. While I can’t recall what prompted me to take such drastic action, I must have disappointed my father in some way. After emptying my piggy bank of a handful of quarters, I left a note telling my parents I was leaving and walked two blocks to the city bus stop. While waiting for the bus, I sat on the steps of a storefront and, sure they wouldn’t even notice I was gone, cried.
I’m not sure how he found me but, like the shepherd who left the ninety-nine sheep to search for the missing lamb, he did! My tears were interrupted when my father rode around the corner on my brother’s bike. Without the harsh words I expected, he wiped my tears, picked me up, sat me on the handle-bars, and we returned home. The two of us must have been quite a sight as this six-foot man balanced me on the front of a boy’s bike and peddled me down the street. While I don’t remember what caused me to leave, I clearly remember my joy at being pursued by my father, picked up, and welcomed back home. Perhaps my running away simply was a test to see if my father loved me enough to seek me even when I erred and strayed.
Just as I mistakenly thought my father’s love was conditional and something to be earned, many of us think we need to earn God’s love. Fortunately, we don’t because, as flawed and fallible as we are, we could never deserve all that God has done for us. Mankind’s abysmal history makes that abundantly clear. From the first sin in Eden, we’ve disappointed God with everything from murder, golden calves, and idol worship to hypocrisy, immorality, rebellion, pride, greed, and wickedness.
Nevertheless, rather than withdrawing His love, God seeks us (as my father did with me). God sought Adam and Eve when they sinned, Jonah when he disobeyed, Hagar when she ran, Gideon when he was hiding, Paul when he persecuted Him, and Peter when he denied Him. Despite our selfishness, greed, defiance, failures, complaints, stubbornness, and other transgressions, God sought us and gave us Jesus. We didn’t deserve such a sacrifice nor did we do anything to earn our salvation—that was God’s grace.
While my accomplishments pleased my father, I eventually learned that I didn’t have to earn his love. He loved me (at both my best and worst) because I was his child. In the same way, God loves His children unconditionally and nothing we can do will ever change that! While He wants us to live righteous lives, God won’t stop loving us when we fail. We have a Father in Heaven who loves us unreservedly, forgives our offenses, disciplines us when we’re wrong, pursues us when we stray, and brings us home when we’re found.
God’s unconditional love is a very difficult concept for people to accept because, in the world, there’s always payment for everything we receive. It’s just how things work here. But God is not like people! [Joyce Meyer]
Jesus told two parables about persistence. In the first, a man went to his neighbor’s home at midnight. Waking him, he asked for three loaves of bread because a traveler just arrived and he had no food for his hungry guest. Initially, the neighbor refused to open the door but, after tiring of the man’s persistent knocking, he finally gave him the bread. In the second parable, a widow kept badgering a corrupt judge with her appeals for justice against a man who has harmed her. Finally, worn down by her persistent pleas, the exasperated judge granted her request.
There are 613 commandments in the Torah/Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible). But, as seen in Jesus’ interaction with the lawyer who wanted “neighbor” defined, there was room for interpretation. For example, what exactly does it mean to “honor” one’s parents? When Deuteronomy 11:18-20 says to bind “these words” to one’s hands and forehead and place them on doorposts and gates, exactly what words and how was it to be done? Work on the Sabbath is prohibited in twelve places but is the command limited to the few types of work mentioned? For that matter, what defines work?
During Lent, I journeyed toward Jesus’ death and resurrection with a Lenten devotional. For each of the season’s forty days, there was a Scripture reading from John, a short devotional, an inspiring quote, interesting facts about Lent’s history, and a unique fast for the day. Each day’s reading also provided journaling space for the reader. For the fortieth day’s journal entry, readers were asked to write a brief letter of thanks to Jesus for all He endured to lead them into eternal life.
Today is Maundy (or Holy) Thursday—the day many Christians throughout the world will observe the institution of the Lord’s Supper/Eucharist/Holy Communion by coming to the Lord’s table. Regardless of what you call this sacrament, Jesus’ mention of a “new covenant” probably will be part of your service. Not a word commonly used today, what is a covenant and how does it differ from a contract?
Unlike Lazarus, we haven’t had a four-day encounter with death. Our family didn’t wash us with warm water, anoint us with myrrh and aloe, wrap us in a shroud with herbs and spices, lay us in a tomb, and mourn our passing. Most of us haven’t even endured a months-long coma, flatlined, or been brought back to life with an AED. How does such an experience affect someone? Without a doubt, the man who emerged from the tomb differed from the man who died four days earlier. Did Lazarus return to life with the 1st century equivalent of a “bucket list” of things to accomplish, places to go, things to do, and adventures to have?
Devotions of the Heart 