Our Saturday started out as a “normal” day, whatever that means in our household. My oldest was off with marching band, I gave the dogs a bath with the assistance of my sixth grader, and the girls were riding their bikes. Nothing unusual thus far. But while I was fixing lunch, my kindergartner burst in to inform me that my third grader had fallen off her bike and was bleeding. Okay, I’ve patched scraped knees before. I can handle this. But when I saw her, it wasn’t just her knees that were scraped. Her lip was bleeding too, and when I wiped the blood away I knew we were looking at a trip to the hospital for stitches. So much for a normal day. My entire afternoon was effectively wiped out by the hour-long trip to the children’s hospital and the time spent there, and I’m sure the bill from our ER visit will be exciting when it arrives, but it was totally worth it. After all, she’s my daughter.
My experience over the weekend is hardly earth-shattering. Any responsible parent would have done the same thing. When a child needs immediate medical attention, parents drop whatever it is they’re doing to help their kid, all at the expense of the parent. Although the injury or illness isn’t the parent’s fault, the parent is the one who feels the responsibility to fix the problem. So great is a parent’s love that he would take the injury in his child’s place if possible, just to restore his child to full health again. Hmm. That almost sounds like a blog topic, doesn’t it? Because God did the same thing for us, His children.
As God’s children, we were in a pretty bad mess, and it was far worse than a split lip. We had deliberately chosen to disobey God, thus alienating ourselves from Him. For our sin, we deserved death and hell. Not a pretty picture at all. And although it was clearly our own fault, God our Heavenly Father took the expense and responsibility upon Himself to fix our sin problem and restore us to full spiritual health. The solution wasn’t easy or cheap. It cost Jesus His life. But He did that for us so that we wouldn’t be lost forever. So great was His love that He took our place and our punishment, to restore us to full spiritual health. Galatians 4:4–5 spells out what God did for us, His sons and daughters. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”
Friend, if you ever doubt how much God loves you, look no further than the cross. Whatever you may be suffering right now, know that God has already provided for your deepest need by sending Jesus to take your sin from you. Yes, it cost Him His very life, but it was totally worth it to Him. After all, you are His precious child.
Photo is Lifeless by taylormackenzie
TruthNotes 