Scene 1. On a gorgeous grassy knoll, with luscious greenery all around, surrounded by beautiful mountains, walks a lonely man unwanted and unloved.
Scene 2. In a jungle setting, lush with flowers, trees, plants, grasses, and overflowing with snakes, spiders, and birds of all types; a young couple tries to carve out a life for themselves.
Scene 3. In a busy crime-ridden city neighborhood amidst tall buildings and businesses, young children try to find a way to fit in today’s world of “me-ism.”
In every scene, in every part of the world, there are people in need of love. There are people completely different from us, yet, exactly like us in feelings or situations. They experience hardship, intolerance, hatred, and injustice. Like us, they need God’s forgiveness.
In a world beyond ours, fluffed with clouds, with streets of gold, gates of pearls, eternal gardens, the brightest lights ever, sits the King of the Universe enthroned, surrounded by rainbows and perhaps by a “bit” more than a quintillion angelic being. Elders fall before His throne and the words “Holy, holy, holy” ring in unison in worship from every corner; praises in adoration to the One who lives forever. Surrounded by pure holiness-in complete absence of sin, God, chose before the foundations of the world to love us. Before He uttered a word into space to create the world we see, He knew he would be dying for us.
God sees beyond the skies, beyond our nationalities, beyond our shame and guilt, and beyond our hopelessness. In His infinite love, God, through His Son, Jesus, took a giant step for mankind; one step down from heaven, from beyond the galaxies, to pay us a visit.
He fills our loneliness, replaces our fallen state by removing our sin, and loves us unconditionally. Not with the “I love you” of chocolates and flowers observed once-a-year, but by laying down His life for us-especially when we didn’t deserve it.
“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment hath we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. We love him, because he first loved us” (1John 4:20, 21, 19).
“Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in deed and in truth” (1John 3:18).
We all need love, demonstrated with action-not “lip-service.”
God Bless,
Sam