Friday, April 11, 2008

 

Unconditional Love Series

 

Matthew 27:54 “Surely He was the Son of God!” 

 

Who Are We?

 

When it comes to the nature of God, it is complex.  Just like human beings are complex, God is all the more complex.  For instance, if you know me in the role of counselor or comforter in a pastoral sense, you know one aspect of who I am; one hat that I wear.    If you knew me in a business meeting in the church you would understand me in another hat.  As I direct staff, another.   The same would be true as in other aspects of my life -  as a friend, as a person in a small group, as a father, a husband, a runner, a painter, a writer.   All of those roles bring forth different dimensions of me just as you have different roles or hats that you wear which reflect a different nature of you.

 

The nature of God is very complex.   We, of course, are aware of the Trinity.   The Trinity consists of God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit.   The Holy Spirit is the love that communicates from the heart of God to us through a variety of means.   The Holy Spirit directs us in our actions.  

 

God the Father is Creator, Sustainer, Giver of the Law, the Giver of Blessings, Judge, and Helper in Crisis.   When Job was so angry with God, God answered him by saying that God was the being who marked off the dimensions of the earth, the one who limited the seas, and put the stars in their places.  

 

Christ, of course, is the Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ, who died for us on the cross.   The personality of God is much more complex than just a simple understanding of the Trinity.   We struggle with God the Father because He is the authority. It is hard when we must deal with some realities like loss of job, cancer, disappointments and realize that God the Father does not spare us of those.  

 

However as we deal with Jesus Christ we understand true unconditional love by looking at His life.   Jesus absolutely, unconditionally, loved human beings.  He loved the Pharisees, the Scribes, and the religious authorities who tormented Him.   He loved Judas and Peter and everyone else unconditionally.  He sacrificed his entire life for them and in the end He died for those who beat him, stripped him, and humiliated him.  He asked his Father to forgive them for they were ignorant of their actions.

 

I believe we can understand unconditional love best when we look at the life of Jesus Christ, who unconditionally sacrificed for the world and for most especially us. 

 

Prayer: Dear God, help me to understand unconditional love by looking at the life of Christ.  Amen.