“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Mark 16: 15-16 NIV
What is this gospel we are to spread throughout the world? It is the gospel of the good news of Christ that, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes on Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
God would have us declare to the world that He loves them. A love so deep and true that He gave His only begotten son to be sacrificed as atonement for our sins in order to have a relationship with Him.
We have been set free from the law of sin and death.
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8: 1-4 NKJV
He gave us the law in order to recognize our need for a savior. Thank God for the law. We should have the utmost respect for it. For without it, we would be righteous in our own eyes.
But God gave us a new law. The law of love.
“So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately. Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.’” John 13: 31-35 NKJV
But the first order of business in proclaiming God’s love to the nations is to first receive His love for yourself. Do you know that you know that you know that Jesus is your redeemer and that God loves you?
He does! He loves you!
You do not have to earn, beg, borrow, steal, or buy His love. He loves you with an unconditional love called agape. Agape: selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love; the highest of the four types of love in the Bible.
And in His love for you He knows you. The strongest desires in humankind is to love and be loved; to know and be known.
My husband and I know each other. Like really know each other. And yet, he does not fully know me. Sometimes he’ll ask what I’m thinking and I can’t help but respond with, “oh, nothing.” Obviously I’m thinking something. But my response is born out of a head knowledge that I simply cannot put some of my deepest thoughts into words, especially in a way he would understand.
It’s not because of any wrong doing on his part, or that our relationship is somehow flawed, but that sometimes our innermost thoughts are only understandable to God.
As I read the following scripture last week from my devotional I began to weep.
“O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall fall on me,’ even the night shall be light about me; Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You. For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.” Psalm 139: 1-18 NKJV
“You understand my thought from afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.” He not only understands your thoughts, but He knows them even before you think them! That’s how much He knows you. If you ever wonder if anyone truly knows and understands you, look no further because God does!
“How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand.” He knows you and He loves you. His thoughts of you are countless. If you ever wonder if anyone truly loves you, look no further because God does!
In His Service,
Rebecca Hamilton, Founder/ Executive Director
For Every Great Battle, There is a Great Victory!!