Do you know God often speaks at the oddest times and the most normal of places?
I guess it is the benefit of friendship.
Walking through my kitchen a few days ago, I hear. “Did you know that the temptation thrown at me about whether to bow down to Satan and gain the whole world or not was about the shortcut of ownership versus relationship?”
I kind of stopped for a second to consider that, but He went on explaining. “I could have had you, had all of mankind to gain back in that deal. I could have bypassed the cross and all of the suffering. I could have owned you, controlled you, manipulated you… It would have been a selfish, self-gratifying kind of ownership of you, but it would have negated your choice to choose me, to choose relationship, to choose intimacy.”
I sucked in my breath. “Daughter, I saw you on the other side of the cross. I choose you. I choose to pay the full price for you, in order to have the chance at true love with you.”
Tears are pooling in my eyes at this point.
“My love is not selfish. It is always self-sacrifice, laying down my life for you. The reason why? Because I value choice. Your choice. It’s only when you can choose into relationship, into intimacy, into love that it is my love. That can’t be forced on anyone. True love drove me to the cross. It was the only way.”
I know so many of us really have a difficult time with holidays like Easter because so much of the symbolism and even scriptures around this are twisted and used against us – even used to torture us. Many, like me, experienced the ones hungry for power, lust, control, and manipulation who did everything they could to destroy of view of a loving God. Those we were handed over to only wanted to use us for their purposes, to fulfill their evil desires.
This is the exact opposite of true love. It’s the exact opposite of everything Jesus did for us.
His love gives. It doesn’t take.
His love sacrifices for us. It doesn’t sacrifice us for it.
His love suffers for us. It doesn’t force us to love Him back.
His love is unselfish, only thinking of our benefit. It doesn’t seek to use us and abuse us.
A friend of mine’s husband, Gill Hodges, recently saw a vision of God taking Him to a door in heaven. God told him that on the other side of the door was His greatest sacrifice. Gil said yes to God showing him, but when God opened the door, Gil was shocked, because all he saw was the expanse of all creation. God paused as they together observed it all. Confused, Gil looked up at the creator of it all as God said to him. “Son, my greatest sacrifice was choice. I had to give my creation the ability to choose.”
Love required the ability to choose. As mankind, we chose poorly, which required God to send Jesus to make a way back into family, into love.
My friends, this is what true love is about. God chose into loving us unconditionally, without bounds, without performance, freely given to us. It is also about our choice whether or not to receive it. It can not and will not be forced upon us, because the moment it is, it would cease to be love.
He did not take the shortcut, because we were that valuable to Him! He wants a loving family. He wants our friendship, an intimate relationship that is hard sometimes to understand.
Featured Image by FelixMittermeier from Pixabay
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