God's Proposal

"He did not enter by the means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption" (Hebrews 9:12). We are the recipients of the most incredible gift of undying love ever given. Jesus Christ, the son of God, came down from His throne in heaven to suffer and die for humanity. If I ever forget the magnitude of this sacrifice, all I have to do is look back on my life and the many, many, many times that I have sinned, and I am left in awe, and wondering why in the world Christ would die for me.We play a part in the greatest love story ever told, yet sometimes we seem to forget that it even happened, and since I know that I tend to forget such a wonderful sacrifice, I figured it would be a good idea to take some time to truly examine and appreciate what God has done for all of us.

The risk we always seem to take on love are always around us, and the main reason why some of us are unable to truly feel love as Christ intended it is because of those risks. We are afraid to open our hearts to the world around us because we are scared of getting burned. However, that fear is not what should fuel us, but it is the heart of God that should be fueling us. Fear drives us away from love, but God leads us into his never ending love, and when we are truly exposed to that love we can't help but open our hearts to those around us. God took the ultimate risk when He sent His only Son to die for us on the cross. Jesus was broken and beaten in order to atone for our sins, all the while knowing that we could turn our backs on him and not accept the gift of love He gave unto us. The sacrifice Christ made was intended to set us free, yet we still live enslaved by sin and strangers to true love. We are enveloped in lives of greed, lust, envy, pride, lies, and so many other things, but it does NOT have to be that way. With the sacrifice Christ made, we can be set free from the addictions and the pains that so easily overtake us. 2 Corinthians 3:14 says "But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed because only in Christ is it taken away." Before accepting Christ, a veil covered our hearts and separated our hearts from the pure and complete glory of God, yet when we accept Christ, that veil is ripped away, and as 2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us, "...we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lords glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." So, if this is true and we all are reflecting the Lord's glory and have access to His incredible power, why do some of us that are  saved still live as if that veil still remains? We act like God is on a throne far away from all of us and we have no way to reach Him. But that could not be further from the truth. Christ dying on the cross for us rescued us. He saved us from the sin that so easily controlled us before, and the sin that still seems to control us now. The ransom has been paid, we are free. The veil is gone, and Christ is King over all, as He always has been. He defeated death and the power of sin, and we no longer have to run from fear and pain and the addiction that plague us, but Christ can pick you up off of your feet and He will fight alongside you against the demons in your life. We are not alone in our fight against ourselves. Christ will be there to strengthen you and to help you. The power that such a notion holds is incredible. The power that makes the demons run and flee is accessible to us through Christ, because of the risk that God took for love.

A common question that my mind has wandered to quite a bit is, why did God have to take that risk on love and send His Son to die for us? If God is all powerful, wasn't there some other option? While it is true that God can do anything, His love is too powerful to not give everything He had to display his love for us. In the book Soul Cravings, Erwin McManus is illustrating the reason for this sacrifice through his personal story. Speaking about his proposal to his wife, he says, "I did not send my brother, nor did I send a friend. For in issues of love, you must go yourself." This is a fantastic illustration of the love that God has for us and why it had to be Jesus. God's love is not passive, but an active love that risks everything for us. No one can make the argument to me that God does not love us, because he gave His most prized possession to set US, a people who constantly turn away from Him, free. The sacrifice of Jesus dying on the cross is the story of God's love. The sacrifice Christ made is God's proposal. He wants us to spend the rest of our lives wrapped in His unconditional love. The only question is, have you said yes?