Love Like Christ

I woke up with a selfish heart that did not want to serve again this morning, but going on strike is never an option when you have a baby. I went to the fridge only to find that the thawing chicken had leaked all over the bottom shelf. My frustration mounted. “I’ve wanted to be a wife and mother my entire life. This isn’t what I signed up for!”

Through my sin, God was gracious. He pursued me in my morning devotions and led me to this passage: “Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:1-2). It’s as if Jesus said, “I am not asking you to do anything that I have not done myself. I gave myself for you. You can give yourself for your family. Be ‘a fragrant offering and sacrifice for God.’ Imitate me.” It’s comforting to know that the ground I walk on, Jesus walked before me and that he does not ask me to do anything that he did not do himself. The very reason that I am commanded to love, serve and sacrifice is so that I can imitate my great God and Savior who loved, served and sacrificed for me.

 

Rags to Riches: The Riches

Ephesians 2:1-3 leaves us with a bleak look at ourselves: dead, followers of Satan who obey the passions of our bodies and minds, and “children of wrath.” And then God comes in like a swooping knight in shining armor to save the ones He loves.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved-and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Eph. 2:4-7)

Because of love. What kind of love would it take to submit your son to divine wrath, humiliation, pain, suffering and both physical and spiritual torture? Might I add, this Son lived in a world without physical pain. He had more glory than any king on earth has ever known and lived in perfect, happy unbroken communion with his Father. What kind of love for humans would it have taken for God to send his Son in that perfect home to a place of suffering and death?

Well, maybe these people were worth the cost. Maybe there was something in them that caused God’s heart to bleed for them. Maybe they were good people who did not deserve to be punished, but were on their way there anyway. No, it couldn’t be. Remember the spiritual cadavers, following Satan and enjoying obedience to the perverted desires of the mind and body? Those were the people Jesus came to save. God joined us to Jesus “even while were were dead in our trespasses.” No goodness in us drew God to send his Son. Instead, He was “rich in mercy” and full of great, undeserved love.

Then God blessed us in Jesus Christ. Not only did we die with Jesus and our guilt for sin die with him, but God “made us alive together with Christ.” Remember we were dead in sin, following Satan. Our just punishment was physical and spiritual death. However, when God raised Christ from the dead, Jesus showed the world that he conquered death, sin and Satan.* Death could not restrain him, sin could not kill him and Satan could not ultimately defeat him. More than that, when God raised Christ from the dead, we rose with him. Like Jesus Christ, death cannot hold us, sin cannot kill us and Satan cannot be our master. The death defying, Satan defeating, sin disarming resurrection of Christ is also ours.

If that’s not enough, God “seated us with him in heavenly places.” Jesus Christ’s role as he sits at the right hand of the Father is to intercede and mediate for his people. When his  blood-bought brother or sister sins, all the Father has to do is look over at his beloved only Son, see his scars, and remember that the sinning saint is redeemed with the blood of that Son and covered in his perfect righteousness (Heb. 8:1; 9:24). Thus, when the Father sees Jesus at his right hand, he sees us there with him, clothed in the perfect righteousness of his Son’s finished work.

To be seated at the right hand of God is also to obtain glory (Heb. 1:3) and rule (1 Pet. 3:22). When Christ obtains glory, we obtain glory. Elsewhere in Scripture the Bible says, “those whom he justified he also glorified” (Rom. 8:30). When Christ rules, we rule with him. These truths are hard to explain and even harder to believe since we cannot see them with our eyes, but even now as Christ is ruling, God the Father looks at him and sees not just his only begotten Son, but all those for whom his blood was spilt, ruling there with him.

Why would God do all that for us? We are undeserving. Why would he love us so much that he would take us from the rags of sin, Satan and death and bring us to glory, perfection  and reigning with him? After begging the question, Ephesians 2:7 explains that God’s goal is to show off his awesome kindness to us. God is so awesome that He enjoys revealing how amazing he is. And on our part, how awesomely, great and amazing it is that he does! We get the gift of eternal life and a share in Christ’s perfection, glory and reign while God gets the praise, adoration and worship. Not a bad deal.

* Thoennes, Erik, Biblical Doctrine: An Overview. ESV Study Bible.Ed. Lane Dennis et.al. Wheaton: Crossway, 2008. 2525.