What Love is This?
Philippians 2:6-7
“who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.”
What Love is This?
Last week we discussed the works of Jesus. We talked about how He lived a sinless life, He performed signs and wonders, He taught with authority, He suffered and died, He came back to life and is now exalted as King over all. In this week’s S.A.L.T devotional let’s talk about the gravity of what Jesus did. With the help of the Lord, hopefully we can understand deeper into the grace that was shown to us through Jesus Christ.
Let’s use a few verses from Isaiah chapter 40 as our guide. Who does Isaiah say that God is in this chapter? These verses are speaking of who God is and who we are not. Here is a list:
God is enormous: It is hard to wrap our minds around how big our infinite God is. Isaiah 40:12 reads, “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and marked off the heavens by the span, and calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance and the hills in a pair of scales?” The answer is God.
God is all knowing: Isaiah 40:13-14 reads, “Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counselor has informed Him? With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge and informed Him of the way of understanding?” God knows all.
The nations are as nothing before Him: Isaiah 40:15-17 reads, “Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust. Even Lebanon is not enough to burn, nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before Him, they are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.”
Nothing compares to God: Isaiah 40:18-20 reads, “To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him? As for the idol, a craftsman casts it, a goldsmith plates it with gold, and a silversmith fashions chains of silver. He who is too impoverished for such an offering selects a tree that does not rot; he seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman to prepare an idol that will not totter.”
No one is equal to God: Isaiah 40:25 reads, “”To whom then will you liken Me that I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.” No one!
God never sleeps and sees every action performed by man: Isaiah 40:27, 28 reads, “Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.”
These are just a sample of the amazing truths of who God is from Isaiah. Can’t you say with David in Psalms 8:4, “What is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him?” Gazing into the person and works of Jesus Christ we can say that He does take notice of us and is mindful of us.
Philippians 2:6-7 says speaking of Jesus, “ who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.” Jesus never once stopped being God when He visited us. He did put aside the rights to exercise all of those attributes and took upon Himself human flesh who was not as enormous as God, could not tell us when He was coming back, His ministry included just a small area of influence, He looked like a regular everyday man, He did not count Himself as equal with God, but grew tired and eventually died at the hands of Godless men.
He descended from the sinless perfections of heaven to a sin infested, God hating world where no one seeks after Him. He left the security of His self-sufficiency to become dependent on a human mom and step dad. He allowed Himself to be ridiculed, forsaken, beaten and killed by those whom He created and loved. In doing so He showed us what true love is by meeting us where we are at and loving us despite of who we are. What love is this!
God did not need to do any of this! He did this in order to proclaim His selfless love to a wild and rebellious people like you and me. He did it for you and for His glory. Part of His glory is to love the unlovable like you and me. He did it just to be with us. In order to be with us He gave up everything. May your hearts be encouraged as you dwell on this point; the God of all creation thought you to be so important that He gave up His privileges as God to rescue you.
