Romans 5:8 AMPC
[8] But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.
We are in the season of Christmas, where we celebrate the greatest gift given to man, which is the gift of life. It is a gift that speaks to the nature and the heart of God, and what makes it amazing is that it was given at a time when there was no guarantee that I would accept it. It is a different argument when you know the response that is expected and is sure to come, and you can work toward that end result. In this case, the Omniscient God knew that some people will reject this gift to the end of their lives, yet it did not stop God from giving it. If it was for the sake of just one person, who would accept the gift, surrender their lives to God and then live their lives in daily appreciation of this gift, God knew it was worth it. That one person would be the human expression of the divine power and nature of God, and would be a witness to the world of the amazing possibilities that are available in the love of God for man.
It is this love that makes God who He is, and places a demand on those of us who claim to be His children. The natural man would want assurances before he can love, and for man, love can be mainly transactional, where I get something back for whatever it is that I give. The natural man cannot comprehend sacrificial love, or where I do something simply because it is all I have, not because I am expecting something from someone else. If God were to be man, none of us would be alive today, as I am not sure what we could afford to give God for what He has given us. The verse above says that God has shown and proven His love toward us. The evidence is the fact that I am alive. The evidence is that I can take of what I have received and freely give to other people. I can take of what I have received from God, without cost to me, and also freely share with others, without expecting anything from them in return.
It is on this matter that this truth is based, which is that a man cannot give what he does not have. Pretence and hypocrisy do not work here, because you cannot fake what your life is unable to produce. Christ died for me, so that I did not have to die. It was my sin that took Christ to the cross, and now, I have been set free from the power of sin and death. The love of God has sealed eternal life for me, and whilst I wait for the manifestation of the life I have received, I ensure that the world knows who I am, what I am, who I know, and where I am headed. He has done all that is needed to be done, and now, the response is mine to sort out. I keep at the back of my mind that there is an eternity to sort out, and there are eternal consequences to the decision I need to make. His love seeks to keep me from eternal damnation, but my response is what guarantee that. Have I responded the right way? How would you respond? God's time of favour is here.
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