Love: The Love of God

In Matthew 18:21-35, Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother, "Up to seven times?" Jesus answered Peter, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but seventy times seven." Then Jesus told a parable describing the nature of forgiveness and the Kingdom of Heaven. 

"Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant  fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt." 

But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, 'Pay what you owe.' So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 

When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." - Matthew 18:21-35

God is patient with us in our weakness. He shows us mercy by holding back His righteous wrath over our sins. He is holy and deserves nothing less from us than perfection, which we can never attain because we are flawed by sin. Our sin -- our selfishness, greed, arrogance, lust, envy, etc.-- defines us, as humans. We identify ourselves as flawed by sin when we say things like, "I'm only human." This simple statement implies that we recognize that there is an inherent imperfection present in all humanity. If we recognize that something is wrong in this world and in humanity, there must be some standard of perfection. How can we recognize what is bad or flawed unless we have some subconscious understanding of what is right and good? We understand that murder is wrong because we attribute value to the human life and, increasingly, to animal life in our culture. But why? Who assigns value to life? Our recognition of right and wrong, of morality -- however different our beliefs may be, originates in the very God who created us. He sustains all things in Heaven, on Earth and under the Earth by the power of His Word.

Just like the slave in the story, we owe a debt we cannot pay. When we recognize our imperfections, our scars of sin, in light of His perfect, flawless nature, we can run and hide like children playing games or we can bow in humility before Him. In His kindness, God chose to offer everyone the opportunity to have his or her sins forgiven. Every careless word you have ever spoken, every hateful act, every angry outburst, every secret shameful deed will be forgiven for those who trust in Christ Jesus. What freedom that truth releases in me, to know that my wickedness is covered by the perfect love of God! The King has pardoned our debts and has given us a second chance at life.

Jesus died after living a sinless life. He chose to die because the heinousness of humanity's sins had to be punished. God is just and cannot let sin slide by casting a blind eye. He is perfect and His very nature requires perfection throughout His creation. But rather than punishing each of us for our sin, God came down as a human, Jesus Christ, and chose to undertake the punishment for all the sins of every one that had lived, was living and would live. By living a perfect life and then dying on the cross, Jesus bore God's wrath for all humanity Himself so that we wouldn't have to experience it. He defeated death and resurrected three days later so that the curse which had ruled humanity since Adam and Eve first sinned in the beginning would be broken once and for all.

No longer do we have to live and die separated from God. He longs for relationship with each of us and has made a way through Christ's sacrifice for each of us to draw near to Him. When we believe in Christ's work and understand that He is interceding for us at God's right hand in Heaven, we can reverently but boldly approach the throne of the Almighty God because He no longer sees our sin when He looks at us; Rather, when God looks at a believer in Christ, He sees what Christ did, the punishment He took on our behalf, which enables us to meet with God and present our deepest fears, requests, and praises to Him.

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." - I John 3:16

In light of this revelation of what God has done for us, what grounds do we have to be impatient or unmerciful towards those around us? Such great mercy and love was shown to us when we deserved it least. In the same way, we should seek to be patient, kind, and loving towards the people we come in contact with each day. God has lavished His love on us and we ought to lavish that same love and forgiveness on both our friends and our enemies in hope that they might experience the love of Christ through us. We don't have the power to love others unconditionally and in perfect patience without the love and truth of God pouring into us each day. Today, take some time to reflect on the true and faithful love of God, our Father, through Jesus Christ. May God awaken in our hearts a desire to know Him more intimately and love Him and our neighbors more deeply as we reflect on His love for us.