9/27/14

Isaiah 51:1-53:12

Ephesians 5:1-33

Psalm 69:19-19:36

Proverbs 24:7

Saturday, September 27, 2014 

"Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer...After the suffering of his soul he will see the light of life and be satisfied" (Isaiah 53:10a and 11, NIV).

I read the phrase "it was the Lord's will" over and over again.  Other translations say, "it pleased God." The verb in Hebrew for this phrase literally means "to delight or take pleasure in" something.  So, the Lord was pleased, He was delighted, to call Jesus to suffer.  At first blush this sounds sadistic.  However, a little perspective is in order. It wasn't the Jesus' suffering that was the object of the Father's joy.  It was the opportunity for reconciliation (or re-connection) with humanity that brought about God's pleasure.  But, the Lord is even more excited when we, who have embraced this opportunity to be His kids, follow in Jesus' footsteps.

"Follow God's example,therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:1-2)

"Just as Christ loved..." 

I was talking with a guy recently who is the one of eight children in the family.  His dad left his mom when he was young and she had to take care of herself and eight kids.  There were many days when she didn't eat so that her kids could.  This seemingly small act of sacrifice is an example of how Christ loved.  What He wanted was secondary to what we needed (Luke 22:42).  This is sacrificial love; this is the love to which we are called.

How do we love like this?

1. Receive God's love daily. Spend time talking to Him and listening to Him (e.g. prayer, Scripture reading).  This is your time to rest in God's presence. Don't rush it; enjoy it.

2. Ask Jesus to lead you to someone you can love each day. Lord, who do you want me to encourage? Who do you want me to pray with? When He shows you that person, seize the opportunity to bless them.  It may require that you skip something that was on your to-do list and sacrifice time to be with someone. Guess what? If you follow through with this you exchange your to-do list for God's, which counts for eternity!

Jesus, teach us to love JUST AS you loved us.

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Kenny Sullivan

soli Deo gloria