The Father's Love
๐ช๐๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ฃ
โข When you think of the word โlove,โ whatโs the first thing or person that comes to mind?
โข Who in your life makes you feel most at ease or accepted when youโre around them?
โข What motivates you to stay in a relationship or friendship even when itโs difficult?
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐
โ๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ.โ ๐๐ข๐๐ก ๐ฏ:๐ญ๐ฒ
This verse is often the first Scripture many believers encounter. It is the gospel in a nutshellโsalvation from eternal death into eternal life through Christ. But do we truly grasp its depth? Every great action in history has a motive behind it. People sacrifice, fight, and endure hardship for many different reasons. But Godโs motivation for offering the gift of salvation is unlike any other: His incomparable love.
In this series, we will explore Godโs mission of reconciliationโa mission fueled by a love that surpasses all else. Today, letโs take a closer look at the driving force behind Godโs mission and how it can affect the course of our lives.
๐ญ. ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐.
โ๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ . . . ๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ.โ ๐๐ข๐๐ก ๐ฏ:๐ญ๐ฒโ๐ญ๐ณ
God saw that the world He created was lost, dying, and doomed for destruction. Our world is broken and ungrateful; we take things for granted, forget Godโs goodness, and turn away from Him. Because He loved us so much, He provided the greatest gift of allโHis most precious Son, Jesus Christ. Nothing and no one else can save us from our situation, which is why the Father sent the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, on a mission to save us. He gave Jesus not only to be with us, but also to die for us. Would you personally give something precious to people who are hostile and ungrateful towards you?
๐ฎ. ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
โ. . . ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ.โ ๐๐ข๐๐ก ๐ฏ:๐ญ๐ฒ
It almost feels too easy: ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ. This simplicity can make us think that religious rituals or good works should be required to earn salvation. But that is the greatest invitation God gives: He is calling people to respond to Him in faith. Share the story of when you received Christ as your Lord and Savior. Was it hard (or easy)? What led you to make that choice? Do you find that you sometimes still try to earn your salvation?
๐ฏ. ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐.
โ. . . ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ. ๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ.โย ๐๐ข๐๐ก ๐ฏ:๐ญ๐ฒโ๐ญ๐ณ
Because of sin, we experience brokenness and alienation from God in this life, and ultimately, eternal separation from Him. But out of His great love for usโthrough the gift of His Son, Jesus ChristโGod opened a new destiny for us. As we have received Godโs gift through faith in Jesus, we are now destined to experience eternal life. This isnโt just about life after death; it encompasses experiencing the quality of life that God intends for us to have here on earth. How did you view life after death before knowing God? How has your understanding changed as you know Him more?
Godโs love is the motivation behind His mission of reconciliation. Not only has He saved us, but He now offers us a new destiny: eternal life. Furthermore, He has called us to participate in His mission of reconciliation by telling others about the greatest gift, offer, and destiny He has for us.
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
โข Reflect on Godโs nature. What does His act of sending Jesus as a sacrifice tell us about His love?
โข Are there things you still do to try to โearnโ Godโs favor? What is one action you can do this week to recall and respond to Godโs invitation?
โข How can Godโs mission of reconciliation be seen in your own circle and community? What concrete step could you take this week toward helping others be reconciled to God?
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ
โข Thank God for His great love for us. Because of His love, He gave us His most precious gift: His Son, Jesus Christ.
โข Ask God for the grace to rely on Him alone and not on our own works.
โข Pray to hear Godโs voice clearly about how you can partner with Him in His mission of reconciliation.