Extreme Love
From the Series—Extreme
October 10, 2003This evotional continues our Extreme series.
Romans 5:6 says, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
God loves us when we least expect it and least deserve it.
Unexpected
When I was a senior in High School I got my first ticket on the way to one of my basketball games. I did a left-hand turn and cut off a police officer. She did a U-turn and wrote me a $50 ticket.
I decided to keep the ticket a secret. Like any good son, I didn’t want my parents to worry about it. I was concerned about their well-being! But I made one error in judgment. What I didn’t realize is that the police department, who probably knew that there are lots of good kids just like me who don’t want their parents to worry, sent a copy of the ticket to your home address. My mom always got the mail and when your son gets a letter from the police department red flags go up. She opened the letter and showed it to my dad without me knowing that they had gotten the letter.
Meanwhile, I lived under this cloud of guilt and anxiety for several weeks. I didn’t know how I was going to pay for the ticket. To a teenager $50 is a small fortune. And I was living in constant fear that somehow my parents would find out because parents are so good at that. Well several weeks passed and I’ll never forget what happened.
After one of my high school basketball games, my dad came down onto the court and told me that he was going to pay for the ticket. I didn’t even know that he knew about the ticket. And I’ll never forget the mixture of emotions I felt. There was a sense of guilt because I had kept a secret from them and they found out. But there was also this sense of relief. Not only was my dad going to pay for it, but I didn’t have to live in the constant state of fear that they’d find out.
Let me make an observation about that experience. I think my parents could have grounded me or taken away my car keys or made me pay for the ticket. And I would have learned a lesson about justice. And those are important lessons. But I think I learned a far more valuable lesson that night. If you want to impact someone’s life, love them when they least expect it and least deserve it. I was unexpecting and undeserving, and they taught me a lesson about grace.
Moments of Vulnerability
If I had to describe Jesus’ ministry in a single sentence here’s how I would do it: Jesus went around loving people when they least expected it and least deserved it. His timing was impeccable. He was always loving people “at just the right time” in the words of Romans 5:6.
John 8 is a classic example. A woman caught in the act of adultery is dragged into the Temple courts and the religious leaders want to stone her to death. That was the appropriate sentence according to Levitical law. They are standing around with stones and they ask Jesus what they should do. And Jesus says, “If any one of you is without sin let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
I think all of us have what I would call “moments of vulnerability” where we’ve messed up. We’re caught red-handed. We have no excuse. This woman and this moment certainly qualify: she was literally caught in the act of adultery. Here’s what I’ve learned about those moments. You can teach a person a lesson in justice —and there are times you need to do that. But you can also teach a person a lesson in grace —and it’ll impact their lives forever! You need the discernment to know which lesson to teach.
My grandfather died when I was six years, but he had a profound impact on my life. In fact, my earliest memory is of my grandfather. I remember going over to my grandparent’s house when I was four years-old. My grandfather had some fossils that were rare and valuable. We could do anything we wanted when we went over to my grandparent’s house, except play with his fossil collection. That fossil collection was “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” You can guess what I wanted to do. I remember picking up a fossil in my little hands knowing I wasn’t supposed to. And somehow I dropped it. As it hit the ground and broke into pieces, I could feel my heart break. I can still feel it 28 years later. I knew that what I did was wrong. I knew that my parents and grandparents would be upset. I wasn’t smart enough yet to use superglue. I knew I had to pay the consequences. There was no way out. I felt trapped. And I didn’t know what my grandfather would do. It was a “moment of vulnerability.”
I remember my grandfather coming into the room and assessing the situation and without saying a word he picked me up and just held me. He didn’t tell me what I did wrong or scold me. He just held me. Sometimes actions are louder than words! Without saying a word I heard him loud and clear. I knew that I was more valuable to my grandpa than his fossil collection. I will never forget that moment—“at just the right time.”
Here’s a pretty good rule of thumb: when you feel like loving someone the least that is probably when they need it the most. That is where redemption takes place—when your kids or spouse or colleague or friend does something they shouldn’t do. When someone blows it you have an opportunity to impact their lives forever!
The last thing Jesus wanted to do in John 8 was condone adultery. He could have taught this woman a lesson in justice, but he comes to her defense. I don’t think she expects it. And she doesn’t deserve it. She just cheated on her husband. But Jesus loves her when she least expects it and least deserves it. The great irony of this story is that Jesus is the only one who met the qualification. He was without sin. He could have cast the first stone. But instead he says, “Go now and leave your life and sin.” This is one of those stories where I wish we knew “the rest of the story.” But I can guarantee this—this woman was never the same! Jesus gave her a new lease on life!
And that’s what he wants to do in your life. He wants to give you a new lease. I John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sin he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” In other words, when we confess we get to start over. That is what communion is all about. Communion is all about starting over. We return to the cross, confess our sin, and start all over again.
Ungodly
Romans 5:8 says, “God demonstrates his love for us in this: while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”
God doesn’t wait for us to get our act together. It doesn’t say, “When you clean up your act come and see me.” Here is the point of this passage. When we are at our worst— “still sinners”—God is at His best —“Christ died for us.”
Here’s the challenge we face: most of us are really good at loving people when they’re at their best. It’s easy for me to love Lora when she’s at her best. But when she’s at her worst—hypothetically speaking of course—it’s not so easy. Why? Because human love tends to be reactive. And that is difference between the way we love each other and the way God loves us. Human love tends to be reactive. God’s love is proactive. I like the way Ian Pitt-Watson describes the difference. He said there is a love that seeks value in its object and a love that creates value.
We tend to seek value. God creates value.
One of our core values is that everyone is invaluable and irreplaceable. That is the message of the cross. If you’ve ever been to an auction you know that at an auction the value of something is determined by the highest bidder. The object doesn’t have a price tag. The value is determined by how much the highest bidder is willing to pay for it. The crucifixion reveals how much God is willing to pay for your redemption. You are invaluable by virtue of the cross. And to think of anyone as anything less than invaluable is to devalue what Christ did on the cross. What I’m trying to say is this: God thinks you’re worth dying for.
Undeserved
Jesus went around loving people when they least expected it and least deserved it. And then he died the way he lived. Jesus was crucified between two thieves. One of them hurls insults at Jesus. But the other thief defends him. Listen to what he says. “We are punished justly, for we are getting what we deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Put yourself in the place of this thief. I wonder what was going through his mind. Did he have any friends or family there to say goodbye? Did he regret whatever he did wrong? I don’t know the answers to those questions, but I do know this. It was the last day and the worst day of his life. His life is ending in the most inhumane way known in the Roman Empire— death by crucifixion. I don’t know what he did to deserve to die that way. But he accepts responsibility. He says, “We’re getting what we deserve.” And then something unbelievable happens—something this man didn’t expect and didn’t deserve. The worst day turns into the best day! Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, today [the day that was going to be the worst day of your life will be the best day of your life because today] you will be with me in paradise.” Jesus loved him when he least expected it and least deserved it.
Fall-Back Position
Dr. Karl Barth was one of the most brilliant intellectuals of the 20th century. He wrote countless volumes on life and faith. Millions of pastors and missionaries have been influenced by his theological writings. A reporter once asked Barth if he could summarize his greatest theological discovery. Karl Barth thought for a moment and said, “ Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so.”
All of us need a fall-back position. In financial terms, a fall-back position is a money manager’s cash reserves. In military terms, a fall-back position is what you do if Plan A doesn’t work. A fall-back position is what you do when all else fails. In biblical terms, I like to think of I John 3:1 as our fall-back position. When everything is going wrong, when I’m frustrated or confused or discouraged I fall back on I John 3:1. It says, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God.” Even if everything in my life goes wrong I still have this to fall back on—Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so.
You can reject God. You can curse God. You can act as if God doesn’t exist. But there’s one thing you can’t do: you can’t make God love you any less. I love the way Saint Augustine put it. “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us .”
Knock Knock
Sometimes it’s tough to let God love us because we feel unlovable. But that is precisely when we need to open the door to our heart and let God love us. I like the way John Ortberg says it, “All the power in the world cannot unlock the door to the human heart. It must be opened from the inside.” Revelation 3:20 is such a beautiful picture of what I’m trying to convey. Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” God is knocking. But only you can open the door. You need to let God into your life. You need to let God love you.