It IS greater far!

The love of God...

Frederick Lehman wrote:
“The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.”

Do you ever ponder the love of God? I do.

I ponder the nature of love, the nature of God, and ponder the fact that God is love. I know as one looking through a dark lens in dim light, but I shall behold Him one day as faith subsides to sight. Still, even then, the fullness of the mystery and glory of God will continually be discovered as His saints walk in unhindered fellowship beyond the ages.

I knows this: what we often call love in the annals of man’s history and the chapters of man’s present pales grossly in the shadow of God’s love.

Last night, I intentionally went to sleep pondering the love of God. I awoke this morning and the first thought that hit my mind was from a hymn written by Baylus McKinney, “Place your hand in the nail-scarred hand.”

Isn’t that funny? Strange? Awesome?! I ponder love as I fell asleep and awakened to the thought of God’s love being expressed. I started to hum the tune, and recalled more of the words; the moment I stopped, I started singing Lehman’s hymn.

I’d written about the cross last night, and that quickly came back to the front of my thinking, so I began to think of Jesus on the cross. I imagined myself in a dark room. I thought of what it might be like to strike a match there in the darkness and discover the image of a crucifix. (Why this thought came to me in this way, I can’t say.) As my match’s light came close to the crucifix, it burned low, burned me, and I quickly extinguished its flame.

You know how it is when you’re trying to pierce the dark with a book of matches... you light one, it burns down and out, and you light another. As I imagined the crucifix in this dark room, I see myself going through match after match.

As I went from His pierced feet, my match went out. As I moved from His wounded side, my match went out. As I moved from His beaten back, my match went out. Little light upon little light, I looked on the form of crucified Jesus.

I saw love there. I see love there.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Love bears all things...” (1 Corinthians 13:7a ESV) The Apostle Peter wrote, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24 ESV)

Oh! the love of God! How measureless and strong!

Like the character, Forrest Gump said, “I’m not a smart man, but I know what love is.”

Look there, with whatever little light you have, look there to crucified Jesus... see the love of God!