The Father’s Love

What comes to mind when you think about the Old Testament? Irrelevant? Outdated? Boring? How many excuses have you & I used to avoid reading it? I don’t understand it. It doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t apply to MY life. For several weeks now, I’ve been reading in the Old Testament. To be honest, I’m blown away at what I’ve found. I’ve been in church throughout my entire life, and maybe like some of you, I’ve heard pieces of stories, but never been able to put it together as a whole. In what I’ve read lately, I’ve come to realize that without the Old Testament, you can’t fully appreciate the New Testament, and the value of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

You’ll notice in the Old Testament, the punishment for sin was death, immediate and harsh. If you’re not careful, you’ll have yourself convinced that the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New Testament. Though, we know from Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8 that the Lord does not change; He is the same yesterday, today and forever. So, what exactly caused the difference?

Jesus.

Jesus took upon himself the penalty for our sins so we could experience forgiveness and grace. If not for His sacrifice, your complaining, disobedience, fear, and failure to trust God would result in you missing the promised land, just like the Israelite’s. Though, because of His sacrifice, we get another chance. And another chance. And another chance. We aren’t perfect, but the one who IS took our place.

I think most of us have at least tried to wrap our heads around what God really did for us by sending His son, Jesus, to die for us. Though, admittedly, it’s a seemingly impossible feat. I have three sons that I love with my whole heart. I cannot fathom for one second sending any one of them to die for even the MOST righteous person. Imagine sending them to die for the person who cut you off in traffic last week, the coworker who constantly criticizes you, the person who broke into your home and stole from you, the person who murdered someone you love….can you imagine?

Recently, it occurred to me, God didn’t give His only son so that everyone would have a relationship with Him; He gave His only son so that everyone would have the CHOICE to have a relationship with Him. No guarantee of the relationship. To put it another way, imagine that you want to adopt, but the only way you can is by giving up your child’s life. Then, imagine giving up your child’s life for someone who then rejected you, who decided not to be adopted by you. Then, imagine knowing BEFOREHAND, that you, and the adoption, would be rejected, and STILL giving up your child. Imagine giving up your child’s life for just a CHANCE of having a relationship with someone. That’s how much He loves us.

I don’t know that we can ever fully understand the sacrifice that was made for us, but through the reading of His Word, I have gotten a small glimpse. Ever since this realization, there’s been an old song in my heart on repeat.

Maybe today we can put aside our preconceived ideas and opinions, and hopefully even our excuses. Let’s pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth, that we may see the Father’s love revealed to us, all the way from Genesis to Revelation.