Family
God made people in His image to be His family...to love them and to receive love from them. To love me and to receive love from me is why the One who could have created anything He wanted to CHOSE to create me...it is why He created you.
God is the fullness of every good thing. God is infinite love. Infinite love MUST expand, and God DESIRED it would expand to me...and to you! You and I are a gift God gave God to be in partnership with...to know and be known...to be like Him...forever. We were made to rule and reign with God on a perfect earth, in bodies that would never die...forever.
Hosea 6:6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
God desired I would know Him and be like Him more than anything else I might offer Him. This is family. God desires family. God desires love.
This very love that led God to desire the creation of people, is the same love that allowed for people to rebel against God. For love, God committed to not ordering anyone to choose Him back. From the very beginning, there was a choice to say no to love...one tree whose fruit was the fruit of rebellion. Adam and Eve exercised the choice for rebellion...the choice to say no to perfect love...and rebellion is what they got. They wanted to try being out of the family. Everyone gets what they want in the end.
But God did not change His mind about the object of His affection...His beloved. For love, God devised a costly plan of rescue. God talked to God, and God decided that love was worth the cost. The Father said to the Son: I desire they would still be mine, and the Son responded: I desire they would be with us where we are, too. Before Jesus went to the cross...the final payment to restore love...we see He and the Father restating what it was really all about:
John 17:24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
The cost of this rescue was unfathomable to me. I will literally "never know how much it cost to see my sin upon the cross." I could never comprehend it, because what Jesus paid was an infinite sum:
Philippians 2:6-9 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges ; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names,
Infinite in power, infinite in wealth, creator of worlds and galaxies, billions and billions of stars, infinite in strength, infinite in divine fellowship and love with the Father and the Spirit...for love...laid it aside and became a man...forever. Still forever God, but setting aside the privilege of God, and instead walking by the indwelling Spirit as man, just like me...forever. the One who does not tempt and cannot be tempted subjected Himself to temptation. The One who knew no lack or hunger, submitted Himself to hunger. The One who experienced perfect fellowship in the trinity submitted himself to rejection. Infinite cost. All for love. All because in His calculus, I am worth it...you are worth it. This is love...this is wholehearted desire. His passion for you...His passion to lay it all down just to give you a CHANCE to choose Him back... outweighed all the power, the wealth, and the comfort creation has ever known.
What a risk Jesus took, laying it all on the line...spending His strength...that SOME would say yes and be equally yoked in love! In Isaiah, we get to see a part of the divine conversation, we see the real risk Jesus took...feeling as though the spending of His strength might be in vain:
Isaiah 49:1-7 “Listen, O coastlands, to Me, And take heed, you peoples from afar! The Lord has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name. And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, And made Me a polished shaft; In His quiver He has hidden Me.” “And He said to me, ‘You are My servant, O Israel, In whom I will be glorified.’
Then I said, ‘I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord , And my work with my God.’ ”
“And now the Lord says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord , And My God shall be My strength), Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ” Thus says the Lord , The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One, To Him whom man despises, To Him whom the nation abhors, To the Servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise, Princes also shall worship, Because of the Lord who is faithful, The Holy One of Israel; And He has chosen You.”
This is the same Jesus who asked the question we all assume He knows the answer to:
Luke 18:8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
Here we see Jesus asking those with Him the same question: did I labor in vain? Did I spend it all on you to see you not respond? Are you coming to this meeting to feel excited for a minute only to go home and back to life as usual?...or will you sell it all and come after me with everything? Will you spend your strength...your time, money, energy...the dreams of your heart...on this relationship, too?
Matthew 19:21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
Jesus desires wholehearted love, because He is a wholehearted lover. He desires that the object of His desire would desire Him back in the same way. Our love is weaker than God's love, but we can still give it to Him in the same degree He gives strong love to us...fully. This is what God desires. This is who He calls a man or woman after His own heart. This is why David could mess up time and time again, and still be counted as the man after God's own heart...the desire of David's heart reflected the very same desire God first extended toward David. David counted all of His strength and power as secondary to what He desired. David was equally invested in the relationship God offered to him:
Psalms 27:4 One thing I have desired of the Lord , That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord , And to inquire in His temple.
This is what God wanted for David, and what David wanted for God. This offer is available to anyone who would say yes. God desires that I would spend all MY days with Him, too...where He is.
The world is frantic for balance...for comfort. Not too much of any one thing. Enough money to be safe, enough play to be refreshed, enough wine to be relaxed, enough God to feel right...but Jesus is imbalanced...Jesus has already proven the God is all-in. His desire is fully toward those He made to be with Him.
How close will you let me come, Jesus? Jesus, I desire....
Revelation 3:14-22 ... ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ”
God is the fullness of every good thing. God is infinite love. Infinite love MUST expand, and God DESIRED it would expand to me...and to you! You and I are a gift God gave God to be in partnership with...to know and be known...to be like Him...forever. We were made to rule and reign with God on a perfect earth, in bodies that would never die...forever.
Hosea 6:6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
God desired I would know Him and be like Him more than anything else I might offer Him. This is family. God desires family. God desires love.
This very love that led God to desire the creation of people, is the same love that allowed for people to rebel against God. For love, God committed to not ordering anyone to choose Him back. From the very beginning, there was a choice to say no to love...one tree whose fruit was the fruit of rebellion. Adam and Eve exercised the choice for rebellion...the choice to say no to perfect love...and rebellion is what they got. They wanted to try being out of the family. Everyone gets what they want in the end.
But God did not change His mind about the object of His affection...His beloved. For love, God devised a costly plan of rescue. God talked to God, and God decided that love was worth the cost. The Father said to the Son: I desire they would still be mine, and the Son responded: I desire they would be with us where we are, too. Before Jesus went to the cross...the final payment to restore love...we see He and the Father restating what it was really all about:
John 17:24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
The cost of this rescue was unfathomable to me. I will literally "never know how much it cost to see my sin upon the cross." I could never comprehend it, because what Jesus paid was an infinite sum:
Philippians 2:6-9 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges ; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names,
Infinite in power, infinite in wealth, creator of worlds and galaxies, billions and billions of stars, infinite in strength, infinite in divine fellowship and love with the Father and the Spirit...for love...laid it aside and became a man...forever. Still forever God, but setting aside the privilege of God, and instead walking by the indwelling Spirit as man, just like me...forever. the One who does not tempt and cannot be tempted subjected Himself to temptation. The One who knew no lack or hunger, submitted Himself to hunger. The One who experienced perfect fellowship in the trinity submitted himself to rejection. Infinite cost. All for love. All because in His calculus, I am worth it...you are worth it. This is love...this is wholehearted desire. His passion for you...His passion to lay it all down just to give you a CHANCE to choose Him back... outweighed all the power, the wealth, and the comfort creation has ever known.
What a risk Jesus took, laying it all on the line...spending His strength...that SOME would say yes and be equally yoked in love! In Isaiah, we get to see a part of the divine conversation, we see the real risk Jesus took...feeling as though the spending of His strength might be in vain:
Isaiah 49:1-7 “Listen, O coastlands, to Me, And take heed, you peoples from afar! The Lord has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name. And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, And made Me a polished shaft; In His quiver He has hidden Me.” “And He said to me, ‘You are My servant, O Israel, In whom I will be glorified.’
Then I said, ‘I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord , And my work with my God.’ ”
“And now the Lord says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord , And My God shall be My strength), Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ” Thus says the Lord , The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One, To Him whom man despises, To Him whom the nation abhors, To the Servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise, Princes also shall worship, Because of the Lord who is faithful, The Holy One of Israel; And He has chosen You.”
This is the same Jesus who asked the question we all assume He knows the answer to:
Luke 18:8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
Here we see Jesus asking those with Him the same question: did I labor in vain? Did I spend it all on you to see you not respond? Are you coming to this meeting to feel excited for a minute only to go home and back to life as usual?...or will you sell it all and come after me with everything? Will you spend your strength...your time, money, energy...the dreams of your heart...on this relationship, too?
Matthew 19:21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
Jesus desires wholehearted love, because He is a wholehearted lover. He desires that the object of His desire would desire Him back in the same way. Our love is weaker than God's love, but we can still give it to Him in the same degree He gives strong love to us...fully. This is what God desires. This is who He calls a man or woman after His own heart. This is why David could mess up time and time again, and still be counted as the man after God's own heart...the desire of David's heart reflected the very same desire God first extended toward David. David counted all of His strength and power as secondary to what He desired. David was equally invested in the relationship God offered to him:
Psalms 27:4 One thing I have desired of the Lord , That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord , And to inquire in His temple.
This is what God wanted for David, and what David wanted for God. This offer is available to anyone who would say yes. God desires that I would spend all MY days with Him, too...where He is.
The world is frantic for balance...for comfort. Not too much of any one thing. Enough money to be safe, enough play to be refreshed, enough wine to be relaxed, enough God to feel right...but Jesus is imbalanced...Jesus has already proven the God is all-in. His desire is fully toward those He made to be with Him.
How close will you let me come, Jesus? Jesus, I desire....
Revelation 3:14-22 ... ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ”
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