The Love of God

At the conclusion of yesterday’s offering of our returned lives to Father God, because of His conquering Love, many of us sinners who were truly penitent of heart, who were slain in the spirit, told Him this. Your Love has recaptured me, and I am totally Yours forever. We each confessed the Stupendously Steadfast Love of God, and committed ourselves, our entire lives, to His undeniably unfailing Love, for God is Love.

We shall continue throughout the week, with Love, our God’s unmerited and undeserved Love for all sinners. We shall be taken through a time of convincing proofs of the Love of God, in the words of the contemporary hymn, ‘The Love Of God’, written by Frederick M. Lehman in 1917. These words are not just truly heart-tearing and piercing, but they tell the full story of salvation. They speak of God’s Superlative Love in Redemption, Resurrection and Restitution. As they have been brought to me in what I have received as, flesh and bones truth, I am extremely eager and passionately anxious to share it all with you.

This is as when Jesus, the Risen, Living Word, went around giving convincing proofs to His flock, that He was alive, flesh and bones alive. Why, flesh and bones alive? This is because many to whom He went, were convinced that He had come to them as a ghost, or a spirit. Jesus knew how difficult it was for them to accept that He, their Crucified Lord and Master, was alive in flesh and bones. They had seen Him taken away by the soldiers.

They had seen Him bend under the weight of that heavy wooden cross, which was so crudely made for Him. They saw Him struggling to carry the cross to Calvary’s hill. They saw how He was stretched out and nailed to that cross of wood. They heard His dying words. They all heard Him, believers and non-believers, friends and foes, Jews and Romans, and when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, Father into your hands I commend My spirit. Luke 23: 46a.  They saw when He breathed His last breath. They saw Jesus die. This was no ghost death or spirit death. This was no apparition or phantom death. This was flesh and bones death, if you will accept it. 

This same Jesus is now alive, risen from the grave, resurrected from the dead, and they need the same flesh and bones, convincing proofs. They have been truly affected by His death and they carry deep, life-trauma in heart and mind. Faith, trust, hope, belief and much more have been ravished, raped and ripped asunder. In fact, their lives have been gutted and they are as empty, helpless, useless vessels, without their beloved Master, Teacher and Friend. Jesus knows all of this and is most sympathetic towards them all. In this, Jesus has clearly demonstrated, in crystal clear colours and emboldened actions that His divine understanding of human nature did not remain in the grave. His grave apparel remained, but not the clothes which draped and covered doubts, fears, skepticism and deceived thinking.

Friends, believers, isn’t this enough to fill, satisfy and lift us up into resurrection rejoicing? Have you heard? Will you believe and receive this resurrection fact? Jesus’ understanding of human nature did not remain buried in the grave. His understanding of resurrection fears, marked every single move He made, as He convincingly proved to His own that He was really and truly alive. I tell you, I ask you this. Isn’t what Jesus has done and continues to do, spellbinding and supremely sufficient for us to be convinced that our Jesus truly lives?

Here is one occasion of this unchanged, un-spoilt and unwavering understanding and care of Jesus, for the very deceived and warped minds of His poor disciples.  Jesus stood in the midst of His disciples and said to them, Peace to you. But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. Luke 24: 36b – 37. They see Him and hear Him, but they are mortally afraid, cripplingly terrified, thinking that they have seen a ghost. Jesus understands perfectly. He immediately knows, not just the problem, but how to eradicate it altogether. Jesus is the problem, and He calmly, lovingly and most wisely, settles their hearts and minds in this way. And He said to them, Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have. Luke 24: 38 – 39.

Jesus is in no way angry, for He understands the human body of sin, perhaps even more so now that He is in Resurrected Body. His patience is consolingly calming. They see His nail-pierced hands and feet, but they still do not believe for joy, and marvel.

It is the kind of, it’s too good to be true syndrome. Jesus understands exactly their human condition and gives even more convincing proof.

We will follow through on this.