Suggested Reading: John 3
There
is a popular misconception about God that seeps into conversations about Him,
even among believers. It is the idea that God is different in the Old Testament
and the New Testament, almost as if there were two different God’s in the Bible:
the violent, angry God of plagues and conquest, and the humble, gentle God of
healings and sacrificial love.
The
story of Christmas is a love story that bridges the two Testaments and
demonstrates the unity of Scripture. Perhaps no single Scripture illustrates
this better than Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus.
Nicodemus,
a Pharisee and member of the ruling council of the Jews, came to Jesus
representing himself and others who recognized God’s authority in Jesus, but
still had some questions. He was one of the foremost teachers in Israel and
knew the Scriptures as well as anyone of his day. The Bible he read was our Old
Testament, as the New Testament had not yet been written. In a sense, Jesus is
explaining New Testament truths to an Old Testament scholar.
It
is in this context that Jesus explains the necessity for the Father to send the
Son. God gave His one and only Son because He loved the world so much. Jesus is
surprised that this Old Testament scholar doesn’t understand these things
already.
God’s
Father-heart toward His children is filled with a fierce love. His love will go
to amazing ends to keep His people safe, His message pure, and His purposes on
track. His fierce love will brook no opposition and is often shown in power in
the Old Testament. But this same fierce and compelling Father-heart is
demonstrated in the New Testament by His willingness to humble Himself and
endure suffering and pain on behalf of His children. It was the same divine
love, expressed in different ways.
We
desperately need help! We need a Saviour who will rescue us from the World,
from the Devil, and from our own wayward hearts. God’s love will conquer all
opposition... even the opposition that comes from within us.
“God
showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so
that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we
loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away
our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10)
............
Questions:
In
what ways have you sensed or seen God’s love for you recently?
How
have you been resisting God’s love? How can you live as one loved today?
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