The Nature of God's Love

He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously [freely] give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

 
Too often I’ve caught myself trying to make God in my image. I typically recognize that whenever I catch myself trying to use prayer to promote my own selfishness. My will or God’s will ... that always comes down to whether I’m going to trust or distrust God’s love for me. And I never win whenever I protect my distrust of His love.



That's why this Scripture is so helpful In it, the Holy Spirit presses me to contrast these two divine gifts: on one side of the scale is Jesus, my Savior, who freely chose to die for me (Romans 5:8) and whom the Father freely gave up for me. On the other side is "all things." My natural greed starts salivating over the prospects of what the "all things" on that side of the scale might include. However, "all things" is eternally secondary to Christ. This priceless “all things” includes whatever I need in order for me to gain in my relationship with Him. It includes tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, swords, death, demons, or literally anything else (Romans 8:35-39) ... and it's worth the price! It's my unfair gain.

 
What the world doesn't understand, but what the Holy Spirit reveals, is that such selflessness, such love, is infinitely powerful yet positive ... it's pure goodness. That is the nature of God's love.


Here, God reveals the perfection of His goodness. By deciding to "not spare," we see the wealth behind His giving: "I will not offer anything that cost me nothing" (1 Chronicles 21:24). From the double possessive ("His own son"), we see the deep love bond between Father and Son: like Isaac being bound by cords of love (as demonstrated by His submission, obedience, and trust), his rope cords were redundant (Genesis 22:9). From the double negative followed by the absolute positive ("did not spare" and "gave Him up"), we begin to see the very personal price the Trinity paid for this gift. Finally, from the simple words "for us all" we barely begin to glimpse the Father's and Son's unselfishness, their distinct but identical desires to risk all things so someone might accept their grace.


This changes the way I pray. My goal is to know my Savior, to know that perfect love that keeps me voluntarily bonded and bound to Him. I want to know His peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7). I revel in the delightful knowledge that He won't allow anything to separate me from His love (Romans 8:39). I don't understand what He gets from this, but I'm very grateful!