God's Love
Your Cross says it all in such a beautiful way, Lord. I love you for the God that you are, for your goodness and grace.
I was thinking about the Cross and the message of God for all of humanity. It is such a great message of love. In order to understand it well and understand what was the thing that drove the Father to be willing, the Son to be obeying, and the Spirit to be accompanying throughout those 33 years and especially on that blessed day when Jesus hung on a cross like a cursed thing, we need to go back to when it all started... back to the garden of Eden.
Eden means pleasure or enjoyment. The garden of Eden was the garden of delight. God created you to live in pleasure. Just as fish cannot live out of water, man cannot live outside the pleasure of God, outside the love and abundant grace of God, outside the joy and the gift of God.
People mistakenly picture Adam and Eve as a very serious couple, doing things the right and proper way, very courteous and civilized, before the fall.
But wasn't that before civilization even existed? And weren't they naked? And weren't they just having fun all day long, having no jobs or duties or payments to make? Weren't they duty-free? Carefree? Healthy, Wealthy, living it "to the max" with everything in existence under their authority?
I believe they were. I believe they were so drunk and high off of God's love and pleasure that the serpent found a way to trick them, making use of their simpleness and robbed them of their simplicity in loving God in the free gift and pleasure of God.
This is what the Apostle Paul says: "I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." (2 Cor 11:3)
I believe God's will for man is something that we can only imagine and never fully grasp until the day we meet Him face to face and throw ourselves in His arms (1 Cor 13:12).
One thing the devil loves to do is steal. He wants to steal what God has granted you.
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10)
God was so uncomfortable, so sad and hurt and so much in pain when Adam chose to live outside of the pleasure that He had prepared for him that He sacrificed His only Son in order to deal with sin once and for all, and restore man back to the original state. His heart bursts with joy for You when you accept His sacrifice of love and enter into His presence to eat from His tree of Everlasting Life: the Cross.
God desires to get you so insanely in love with Him that you refuse to live outside of His love. God wants you to have a taste of HIS goodness. The Eden-type-of-goodness. He knows you will never look for pleasure elsewhere once you taste HIM.
"Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—for your love is more delightful than wine. Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the maidens love you! Take me away with you—let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers. We rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. How right they are to adore you!" (Song of Solomon 1:2-4).
Joseph knew the Father's love. He didn't need to prove himself worthy. He had that colourful royal garment on. He went on playing and bouncing around in the fields while his brothers laboured all day long and never pleased their father as much as Joseph did.
Abel knew the Father's love. He brought a sacrifice that was pleasing to Him.
Abraham knew the Father's love. He brought his one and only son to sacrifice for Him. I believe He did it with joy. He did it with singing and dancing. He believed God would resurrect him (Heb 11:17).
Jesus knew the Father's love. He bore the cross with joy (Heb 12:2).
Adam may have been deceived but we have a greater love laid before us and poured upon us. It is the love of Jesus. That love can not be ignored and cannot be put aside or compared to any other kind of love. That love shouts the Father's will for our lives. that love is confident and goes all the way to drive you out of your mind. That love draws you into His pleasure of overflowing joy and abundance.
The Father loves you. He is well please with you. He wants YOU! He wants you so madly in love and so madly saturated with His pleasure that He went all the way for you. All the way from Heaven to earth, then from earth to Hades and then from Hades back to earth and back to Heaven again! To grant you the gift of everlasting life.
"The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." (Zeph 3:17)
Praised be His wonderful name! He is our new song! Our Father in Heaven... so blessed is Your name and the name of Your Son Jesus with Whom we are all heirs in the Kingdom (Rom 8:17).
"Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (Is 53:12)
The devil may attempt to play with your thoughts but if your heart is well rooted in the Father's love, his tricks will only cause you to fall more in love with the Father... and He will raise you high, high above all things, just as Joseph went from slave to prince, and Abraham from idol maker to a father of a nation, Jesus from servant to risen King!
My 6 months old daughter smiles at me every single time I look at her. She doesn't do that to everyone. She doesn't know I provide for her. She doesn't know I protect her. She isn't old enough yet. Something inside her makes her love her father.
The Father is well pleased with you... you long to love the Father... you need Jesus. You need God's love.
Join me in Eden. It is better than wine.
