Kingdom Love, Part II

In this world, we don't really understand the kind of love that "lays its life down for its friends." We don't understand why a man would choose to be crucified so that we could be forgiven. We don't understand why a man would choose to be a vagabond and never get to go home in exchange for saving a friend's marriage, like Sam did in the last episode of Quantum Leap, or how Batman decides to take the blame for another man's crimes, so that his town could be spared of having 100+ criminals being released back on the streets. We don't understand this at all, because we are used to there being a catch. However, there is no catch to Jesus's open-armed offer of forgiveness for any and all who wanted it. He really does love us that much, more than we can ever comprehend. It is this love that touched my heart. At times, I wonder about the risks of being taken advantage of, because of the profound effect Jesus's love has had on me. However, the truth is love is never wasted. Unforgiveness only seems pragmatic when we don't see how great the love is that we've already received. What did Paul call us? "Imitators of Christ?" The truth is that His love has no catch. He's prepared to give up everything that we hold dear, so that he could be with us. So, the least we can do is have hearts that are easily moved to compassion and forgiveness. The least we can do is not keep record of wrongs. The least we can do, is turn the other cheek. We can forgive, because we've had his love lavished on us at every turn. He's always smiling at us, even when we think we've disappointed him. Love lets go of the past, and takes a risk of being taken advantage of, because love is what we all need. We all need to see that Jesus is smiling, even when we are at our worst, behaving at our worst.

I wish I could explain what love really is. The best I can say is that God's love for us is like the best day you've ever had in your whole life times 1000... and times 1000 again. And that is still not enough. We are loved so thoroughly that we can never, ever escape his grip. We have a home in God's heart, and despite what we may think, we cannot lose that, no matter how bad we fall. All we have to do, is believe it is so, and let go of all those filthy rags that we call our past transgressions. God is always there, even for the worst of us- in fact, especially for the worst of us. Please receive it today.

Sincerely,
Sean