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An old saying that doesn't get much exposure any more says that "the best things in life
are free". Most people probably don't have the slightest idea how absolutely fantastic
these few words are, the reality that they express. Not only are those "best things" free, but they are unattainable by any human ability or device. They are free because they are from a benevolent God, Whose infinite power is revealed in His unfailing love, and He has willed to give us these "best things" because His incredible capacity for love has embraced us, unlovely and corrupt, and lifted us up to become the progeny of grace forever. The most noble human being that ever lived could do no better than love another, or others, when they got something tangible from the deal. I exclude from that statement One Person, however; The Lord Jesus Christ. He is unique in many ways, one of which is the fact that He gave everything that was sacred to Himself, his immaculate soul, for the unlovely, the unfaithful, the ungratefull. Even as He writhed in agony, those He died for spat on him and jeered as they watched. Even in unspeakable pain, a sorrow that we cannot begin to understand, which tortured him not in physical terms, but because of His separation from God, and His emmersion into the enormous maelstrom of filth, the excrement of creature depravity, His words did not condemn us, but implored His Father to forgive us in our ignorance. We presided over an egregious miscarriage of justice, pronounced an innocent man guilty, beat Him and tortured Him, humiliated Him publically before a mob of thousands, made Him bear the instrument of His own death on his bleeding back, hammered spikes through His flesh to suspend Him from a cross, and took delight in taunting Him as He hung there.... yet the unsearchable love that drove Him did not falter. Here is a man who not only got nothing in return for His love, but was tortured and rejected by the objects of His devotion. How great a love is that, friends? What have any of us done to deserve such a noble and selfless sacrifice on our behalf? What could we ever do? Even if we imitated Him, gave ourselves up to the very same suffering, we could not achieve worthiness, for only He had infinite Righteousness. We cannot fathom the depth of despair that He endured, to come into contact with corruption. Considering these facts, the value of those "best things" takes on a new dimension, and the fact that they are free....we can only kneel in awe before the God of Eternal Love that would do such a thing for us. And our reverance is all the more overpowering when we realize that all He asks of us is our love in return, as fallable and sporadic as it may be, this feeble expression of our esteem is His reward. Of course, there's much more to it than that, because loving God demands that we know Him, and knowing Him requires countless hours in study, countless hours of application of the knowledge He gives us to our circumstances, for by this process only do we come to see how magnificent is His love for us. Yes, by this process only! What meager emotions we stir up at the thoughts of His sacrifice on the cross are pathetically inadequate to do justice to His expression. There is something so much more profound awaiting those who delve into the mysteries of The Word. No eye has ever seen, nor ear heard, the things that God will give those who love Him. They are exceedingly, abundantly beyond all we could ever ask or think.... They are the best things in life. |