We Understand Love Because of Christ - a podcast by David K Payne

1 John 3:16 (NLT) We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us...

 

“It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all and showing us over and over again the birth, life, death, and resurrection of his only begotten Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord. It was like a best-loved story being told day after day with each sunrise and sunset, year after year with the seasons, down through the ages since time began.” 
― Francine Rivers, The Last Sin Eater

 

A few years ago I preached a message about how Christ laid down His life so humanity could live. I tried to imagine the man Jesus who denied himself many of the norms in life, because something inside of him made him to know that the things others enjoyed would never be his to enjoy.  A few years ago a very controversial movie came out entitled "The Last Temptation of Christ". I never saw the movie and many Christians were up in arms at the thought that Jesus could be tempted. But in fact Jesus was tempted in all points as we are, and on my view many more points than we. I believe Jesus knew there would never be a normal childhood, girlfriends, a career, a wedding, children and grandchildren. I believe he knew that he would never celebrate the joys of long life and have possessions as many of his peers and as we do today. But the bible teaches us that he laid it all down for the joy of knowing that a lost world would be reunited with their heavenly Father. He truly sacrificed His life in order that we may have life.  Consider this text...

 John 10:11–15 (NLT) “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. 12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. 13 The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep. 14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.

2 Corinthians 8:9 (NLT) You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.

 Today ask the Father to show you the love with which His son Jesus loved you. Focus on the sacrifice of the man Christ Jesus and how much the man gave up to walk the path he did in order for you to have the relationship with, and the confidence toward our God. That is a picture of love that will inspire you to live and live well every day.

Just Be

David

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