The Love of God 5

"If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-    how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"     Romans 8:31-32

Okay let's establish something from the Get-go...God is for us. I'll say it again GOD IS FOR US! He wants us to be our best, do our best, succeed, prosper & be victorious! He encourages us, motivates us and like a great parent is cheering & helping us on. In the 1992 Barcelona Olympics 400m sprinter Derek Redmond was 150m into his race when he pulled up with a torn hamstring. Instead of giving up he hobbled around the track tears streaming from his eyes to finish the race; when his father, from the stands, pushed through security guards and came onto the track, put his arm around his son and helped him to the finish line. It was an incredibly touching moment that moved & inspired hearts round the world of a father's love. How many of us long for a father that would be there for us in that same way when we are going through challenging times?God is for Us!

Now let's put this into perspective.

I love my son, he's my one and only and I would pretty much do anything for him. He is precious to me and I am so proud of him, he's an amazing young man. I've had the privilege of coaching him in various sports and watched him grow into an incredible athlete. I have cheered for him and shared in his victories, I have also felt for him when he was injured or his team suffered defeat. But my love for him pales in comparison to God's love.

The story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 is the story of each and every one of us. God created us and desires an intimate, loving eternal relationship with each of us....but we have all at some point sinned and separated ourselves from God. (Yes, even some of you who are sitting there reading this could be tempted to think...."I'm not that bad, I've lived a pretty good life, I'm not that person!"). We left him! And went off to do our own thing. Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2) and the only way for us to be reconciled and reunited with God was for someone to be a sacrifice for us. To take the punishment we deserved and set us free to be with God. And that someone was his Son, Jesus. God loves you and me so much that he paid the ransom price for each of us with the death of his own Son. Wow, that's Love.

So, now that God has sacrificed what is most precious to him, his own Son, for us. He has shown us the depths to which he will go, the lengths to which he will go and the heights to which he will go for us to be back in a loving intimate relationship with him. Everything else is a breeze! God is for Us! He wants to graciously give us All things. He wants to give it to us, he wants to give us the best! But it's how and when He decides to give it to us, because it's His Grace.

God loves us, and God is For Us!