Bill Bright once described himself as being similar to a microbe on the back of a flea on a dog’s back in the palace of the master. His comparison of a human being to God gives us perspective; however in my opinion he understated it mightily. I cannot even begin to imagine the immensity of what we know of the Universe. It is so massive as to defy our limited intellects and the planet Earth is less than a speck and we are less than a speck on the earth.
What is even more amazing is that God knows each one of us individually and loves us with an incomprehensible love that is as difficult to describe or measure as the enormity of His Universe. Jesus expressed His intimate knowledge and love for us individually in Luke 12:7: Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. And even the very hairs your of head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. I tell you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God.
And for those of us who love and confess God we are given further assurance of eternal life in Luke 12:18.
And you will be hated by everyone because of My name. Yet not even a hair of your head will perish. By your patient endurance, you will gain your souls.
So it is all very puzzling to me. Hey I’m not the only one, even King David wondered out loud millennia ago in Psalm 8:4 about it:
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty!
He went on to express His utter astonishment that God Himself would consider coming to dwell on earth:
“But will God really dwell on earth with humans? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!
I know the reason that God sent His only Son from the thrones of the highest heaven to die a horrible death on a cross and take the punishment for all sin including mine and yours. It is because He loves us.
The question that beguiles me is: Why?
No human being would ever be able to answer that question sufficiently, much less me. One thing is certain, however; His love is not due to anything we have done or deserve and it cannot be purchased or earned. He gives us what we don’t deserve, because He loves us. We refer to it as grace.
The state of mankind since the fall is and has been one of rebellion and disobedience. Jeremiah 17:9 describes man’s inner condition: “The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. Who can know it?” Our innermost beings are so corrupted by sin that even we don’t realize the extent to which sin has polluted us.
In our natural state, we do not seek God; we do not love God; we do not desire God. Romans 3:10-12 clearly presents this enigma: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”
How then is it possible for a holy, righteous, and perfect God to love such creatures?
First John 4:8 and 16 tell us that “God is love.” Never was a more important declaration made than this — God is love. This is an astute statement. God doesn’t just love; He IS love. His nature and essence are love. Love saturates His very being and bathes His presence, (even His wrath and anger).
Since it is God’s necessary nature to love, He must demonstrate it. He does so by lavishing it on undeserving people who are in rebellion against Him. He demonstrates this sacrificial love by sending His Son to the cross to pay the penalty for our sin (1 John 4:10), by drawing us to Himself (John 6:44), by forgiving us of our rebellion against Him, and by sending His Holy Spirit to dwell within us, thereby enabling us to love as He loves.
God’s love is personal. He knows each of us individually and loves us personally. His is a mighty love that has no beginning and no end. It is this experiencing of God’s love that distinguishes Christianity from all other religions. Why does God love us? It is because of who He is: “God is love.” And remember He did this in spite of the fact that we did not deserve it.
Romans 5:8
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”
May 9, 2016 – Click here to listen