Loving God

No wonder Jesus was sweating blood; I imagine, to Jesus, separation from His Father may have been worse than the betrayal, worse than the beatings, torture, and death He was facing by the ignorant. In John chapter one, we find that Jesus is “The Word”, that He was with God and was God at creation. Jesus knew His purpose, and He knew the suffering that was about to begin.

In preparation, Jesus prayed, “Not mine, but your will, be done!”

At every moment, Christ had the power to say: Enough! Nope, not doing this, but instead, He was steadfast and adhered to His Father’s plan.

Obviously, God’s plan was the only way, through Christ’s sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection, the only way we could be graced with the opportunity to follow Jesus, keep His commands, and in doing so, receive the promise of eternal life with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Woe to those who reject the love of God. (John 3:18-21)

Jesus’s sacrifice demonstrated His immeasurable love for God, doing God’s will, and His love for you, me, and all mankind. Can you phantom the emptiness, loneliness, and pain Christ felt when He cried out, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani,” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

A Hymn says: “I gave, I gave My life for thee, what hast thou giv’n for Me?”

• Do we give of ourselves to God in gratitude?
• Do we respect God? – enough to remember Christ and do His Will.
• Do we love Jesus enough to do as He commanded? – setting time aside on the first day of each week to be with the Church and remember Christ, reflect on the cross, partake of the bread and fruit of the vine, which represents the body and blood of Christ that was shed for us that we may obtain forgiveness.
• Do we look forward to gathering and worshiping with fellow believers as often as possible? – Praising God with song, prayers, teaching, and edification of our brothers and sisters in Christ, being lifted by their presence as we study and grow together in our understanding of God’s will and plan for us.
• Do we take time to try and share the Gospel of Christ with others?

Scripture tells us that baptized believers are those who are “In Christ,” and when we are “In Christ,” God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit work in and through us. Christ told us that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments, and He gives us a new commandment. ‘That we love others as He loved us.’

Do you love the love that surrounds us all in the Lord?

I wonder: when we don’t take time for Christ, when we don’t put God first, when we choose not to be with the Church, would Christ, in a similar way, cry out, “Why oh why have you forsaken me?

Related Scriptures:

God First!