Love God and show it . . .

 

This morning I’m thinking how sin can hurt other people and having my own way might be costly to others. Two incidents come to mind. One involves a person that I don’t like very much and it would be easy to have my own way and hurt that person’s feelings. The other is someone that I do care about, yet I’ve sometimes picked my own way without letting the thought of hurting them stop me from being selfish.

The last time I did that, I felt no guilt at all. Now I’m realizing the Holy Spirit is setting me up to think this: I know how my sin affects others, but what about the effect my sin has on Jesus?

God showed his love for me in that while I was still a sinner (Romans 5:8) which clearly says that time isn’t the issue: my sins happen after His death, but are still part of what He suffered. If I am facing temptation, I should be thinking of how yielding to selfish desires adds to what He suffered for me. He saved me from sin’s power so I don’t have to do that.

Today’s verse reminds me that His suffering was serious — “But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. “(Hebrews 2:9) In serving as my substitute, Christ humbled Himself supremely. Why should I think it is okay to pridefully have my own way and take advantage of His humility?

Not only that, Jesus’ death on the cross was horrific death, not calm and peaceful. He experienced torture and agony. The curse of sin was the guilt and shame for every person who ever lived. He was not guilty of any sin of His own yet willingly suffered a weight that I cannot begin to imagine. Why should I take sin lightly or take His forgiveness for granted? With people I hurt, I can see their pain, but I cannot see the pain Jesus felt — and that is a hopelessly awful excuse to ignore it.

As today’s devotional says, God sent His Son who willingly came to die to redeem mankind, including me. This is amazing. He did it so I could become His adopted child (Galatians 4:4–5). Would I stomp on the loving grace of my physical father? No way. How then can I ignore the cost paid that made me a child of God?

MacArthur writes: “Only by tasting death as a man could He free mankind from death. Historically, kings have had someone taste their food and drink before they consumed it. Christ drained to the dregs the cup of poison rightfully meant for us before it could ever touch our lips. He substituted His death for ours, releasing us from the deadness of sin and bringing us into life with God.”

He was moved by love and grace to suffer for me. I did nothing to deserve salvation and much to deserve death. The people I hurt may or may not have done anything that prompts my sin, but I’m to be like Jesus and love them as He loves me:

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)

Jesus died for all, then rose from the dead and is crowned with glory and honor and exalted to the right hand of the Father, where He will reign forever and ever. He is my great substitute, whom I can thank and praise throughout all eternity. Each time I sin, I am mocking the one who bore that sin and the guilt of it. Shame on me.

PRAY: Jesus, I can see that being righteous can be motivated by a selfish desire to be popular rather than wanting to glorify You and be like You. You did the will of God because You love us, but also because You love the Father and obeyed Him. I need to be more aware of why I do things, and who it really hurts when I do not obey You. It is important to love people, but that love is supposed to be the way that I show my love for You, not just to get on the good side of them. Forgive me.

PONDER: Among other horrors, Isaiah 52:13–53:12 says that Jesus “was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind” and that He was “despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” He bore my griefs and carried my sorrows. While I esteem him smitten by God, He was pierced for my transgressions; crushed for my iniquities. My sin was laid on Him as He made intercession for me. While I cannot be my own Savior, I can love Him and show it by loving others — far better than I do.

 

 

From Darkness to Light

 

We had a bountiful Christmas Day. Much food, many gifts, laughter, calls from those who could not join us, a couple of games, lots of praise for God’s goodness, and several surprises. One gift I received is an object lesson. It is a black mug with a white interior. However, when hot liquid is poured in, the outside of the mug turns white and dozens of wise words show up, the last one being reference to these verses:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:28–29)

My quirky mind responds: this mug is like me, washed clean on the inside but that does not show up easily on the outside — until I get in hot water and rely on the Lord. Not an exact illustration, but close enough to remind me that I don’t need a dose of trouble to keep centered on Jesus. He is with me all the time and in all situations!

Today’s devotional begins with seeing Jesus, not just as a babe in a manger as depicted in nativity scenes this time of year, but as He is now and as He was as a grown man:

But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:9)

MacArthur writes the truth of what happened to baby Jesus, and that reality was in my mind most of yesterday, even as we celebrated His birth. The devotional says:

“Those soft baby hands fashioned by the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb were made to have two great nails hammered through them. Those little chubby feet were made to walk up a hill and be nailed to a cross. That sacred head was made to wear a crown of thorns. His tender body wrapped in swaddling clothes would be pierced by a spear to reveal a broken heart. The death of Christ was no accident; He was born to die.”

Jesus died because the blackness of sin was keeping humanity from knowing and loving God. Sin makes us far more concerned with our own selves, our way, our rights, even what is under a tree with our name on it.

Jesus came to die in our place—to be our substitute. Otherwise, we would die and pay for our own sin. He was not a martyr dying for a great cause, but a substitute and a Savior dying for you and me so we could be set free from the penalty and power of sin to love and serve God instead of being enamored with our own selves and our own stuff.

He was on my mind all day. While I was thankful for the gifts from family, each thing wrapped was a reminder of the greatest gift — eternal life and a relationship with my Creator that cannot be put in a box and tied up with a golden ribbon.

PRAY: Jesus, yesterday we celebrated You as God’s gift to us and I felt Your love in each gift was opened. I’ve often called myself ‘God’s spoiled brat’ and that is evident today as I smell the turkey soup in the crockpot, view the leftover yummies in the frig, and look with a bit of dismay at thoughtful gifts and count all the chocolates. May my heart always be thankful, for these things but mostly that you came as a babe, grew to a man, and died as my substitute to set me free from the blackness of sin, and even from all the hot water I would be in if I didn’t have You and Your protection and care to guide my life.

PONDER: The gentle nativity scene is nothing like the intended result of that birth — a scene of blood and horror as the innocent Jesus was put to death that I should not experience separation from the One who created me and died for me. This is the wonder of Christmas.