Extraordinary Love

 26 Jul 25

Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Life Application Study Bible Devotion


Extraordinary Love

We may be able to understand a God who would forgive sinners who come to him for mercy. But a God who tenderly searches for sinners and then joyfully forgives them must possess an extraordinary love! This is the kind of love that prompted Jesus to come to earth to search for lost people and save them. This is the kind of extraordinary love that God has for you. If you feel far from God, don't despair. He is seaching for you.


““Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders”Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

———————-

Reflections 

In the beginning before I came to Christ, I struggled with feeling worthy for Christ. I was like, I'm not holy as other Christians are. I am not a good person. I sinned so much. Why would He be bothered with me? Also my thoughts were if I were to become a Christian, I felt I need to know more before I can be called one. I don't know why such were my thoughts but I also came to realise many pre-believers also had such thoughts. Somehow or rather, I don't have an issue with taoism or buddhism or whatever others. I just go. But for Christianity, there was somehow that higher reverance which I felt was not so easy to get into. Well, that was besides the irritation I got when Christians come knocking at my door.. 


I realised that Christianity is in fact an open door. The handle is on our side. Jesus is waiting for all of us to come to Him. He knocks on our doors (hearts), wanting to receive us as children. However, having lived in this world for so long, we have doubts, a sense of whether this is indeed something so good to be true, like really? No strings attached? Like it is just hard to understand what concept this is. 


Someone asked this question that other day. "Why must Jesus die for us so many years ago. Is it still relevant to us now?" That was a question a friend genuinely asked and somehow people just cannot answer. I shared with her briefly that before Jesus's time, people uses lambs as the atonement sacrifice and the lamb has to be free from blemish, defects, etc. They had to purposely go in search of these lambs or even buy them in order to present it as an atonement sacrifice for their sins, as blood needs to be shed. These things went on for some time, year after year till Jesus came and sacrificed Himself for the atonement of all our sins, once and for all for He is the ultimate sacrifice, sinless, blameless. He has come to redeem us and no one had to sacrifice a single lamb thereafter.


His blood was shed for our sake. He didn't have to but He chose to, in obedience to the will of the Father. Indeed His love is beyond what humans can understand for we are only capable of mediocre love, superficial love or transactional love. Even in other religions, they preach about giving offerings in order to be blessed. But are we truly blessed? So does that mean if I don't give offerings, I will not be blessed? How then, is that different if they prayed to spirits during the seventh month, so that they will not be harmed or disturbed by it?


Jesus loves us and we are His. 

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