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Redeeming Love

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Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” John 13:7 ESV

I need to be honest with you. The last few weeks have been hard. People I love are hurting. Amid the usual struggles of life’s joys and hardships, loss and heartache have descended in a torrent.

A friend and sister servant in ministry at my church received a call recently that shattered her world. Her beautiful 23-year-old daughter had gone to sleep the night before like she did every other night. Only this time, she never woke up—at least not here. She closed her eyes to the blackness of this earth and opened them to the splendor of heaven and the beautiful face of Jesus.

Unimaginably wonderful for her. Devastatingly sorrowful for those left to grieve her.

Two other families close to me have lost loved ones to the ravages of cancer. And I recently received word that the disease has come calling on one of my dear family members for a second time.

Our human nature begs the answer to a desperate question: Why? Why must the body of Christ endure such pain? How do we reconcile God’s love with so much suffering?

I don’t have an answer, dear one, at least not one that will satisfy. If I did not know my God so well, I might be tempted to question Him myself.

But I do know Him well. I know the tenderness of His love. I know His comfort in my own brokenness. I know He is faithful, and I know His Word remains true.

I also know He wastes nothing and intends to bring a good work from every pain.

I recently read this quote from Christian philosopher Dallas Willard:

“Winter comes, but nothing irredeemable can happen to you. Nothing beyond the redemption of God can happen to you.”

Do you believe in the power of a God who redeems?

Beloved, God didn’t choose for this world to become ravaged by the evils of sin. Man chose it. Adam, chasing after a desire whispered into his heart by the deceiver, chose to disobey God and step out from under the safe covering of His protection. And now this world still reaps the consequence of that choice.

You see, that’s the nature of sin, dear one. It grows. It becomes stronger. Eventually it ends in death.

…desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. James 1:15

And now in this world so decayed and corrupted by sin, pain abounds. It leaves its mark on both guilty and innocent. But God never intended this pain for us; Satan did. Why? Because Satan hates what God loves, and God loves people.

Maybe we should take a moment to ponder the enormity of John 3:16.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Love led God to give His Son so you and I could live. Really live. Sin and death were never His choice for us. He created us in life and chose to offer it again, poured out on a cross in love to redeem man’s mistake. Jesus suffered death Himself so He could rescue us from it. Unbelievable.

We have trouble grasping love that gives like that. We can’t wrap our mind around such utter selflessness. So we hesitate to trust it.

But you can trust it, dear one. God loves perfectly—even when we can’t see or understand what He’s doing at the time. And He will never allow a heartache that He can’t redeem and bring something beautiful from. Never.

My heart remains full of hope because I know that God isn’t working evil in this world. He’s redeeming it. We’re still dealing with the consequences of our choice, but He remains faithful.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Jesus has overcome what we cannot. Beloved, as long as we live on this corrupted earth, we will experience suffering. But in Christ we have glorious hope! Whether we experience His healing touch here or when we see Him face to face, we win. Hope abounds. Love overcomes. Life triumphs.

And for those of us left suffering in this broken world, Jesus offers the means to overcome. When we run to Him in our pain instead of from Him, He redeems it. He exchanges our ashes for beauty, our mourning for gladness, our despair for praise (Isaiah 61:3).

What the enemy intends for evil, God desires to rescue and redeem. Will you let Him, dear one?

Choosing Life

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This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16 

Choice. The great gift our Creator bestowed into the heart of mankind so that we might offer love freely became the cause of our distance from Him. You know the story. Adam chose to neglect God’s way and sought his own instead. We all know how that turned out.

I can’t imagine the aching regret that must have consumed him as he experienced each new consequence resulting from his choice: separation from God, nakedness, shame, sorrow, fear, and blame to name a few. Far worse must have been the agony of watching his sin play out in the lives of his sons. He stood powerless as sin’s cords entangled the heart of his firstborn, giving birth to jealousy, rage, and even death.

Adam discovered a hard-learned lesson that we would be wise to heed. Our choices always have consequences.

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” Galatians 6:7-8

Each decision we make results in either life or death, each choice a crossroads marking paths to redemption or destruction. Our Creator beckons us toward life, offering His Son as the truth and the way we can follow to restoration. Yet all the while the serpent draws us into his will with half-truths and deceitful promises, and our sinful nature convinces us to believe him.

That, dear one, is why salvation must come through faith in Jesus.

Who will you trust to be the author of your steps, beloved? Will you trust Jesus, who offers the path to abundant life (John 10:10), or will you continue to follow the path lit by your sinful flesh and bound to the will of the prince of darkness (2 Timothy 2:26)?

It seems an easy question. Of course God’s is the better path! And many claim that they will follow Jesus on the path to life. But when faced with the reality of living out that choice, their resolve fades. The familiar voice of the enemy continues to call and they find themselves making the same destructive choices Adam made.

Consider the whole of Jeremiah 6:16,

This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”

Where do you stand today, dear one? What choice lies before you that holds the power of life and death? Sometimes, it’s an obvious answer. Other times, it’s not so clear. But whatever your circumstance, God has your answer, and within it lies rest for your soul.

Jeremiah 6:16 offers the key to discovering God’s will at your crossroads. It lists four commands: stand, look, ask, walk.

  • Stand – The verb stand evokes two thoughts. First, standing involves stillness; it is a stationary action. Consider Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Before we move in any direction, we must be still, pausing to acknowledge the One who IS God.

Yet standing is also an action. One who stands isn’t idle or complacent, but ready to move when the time is right. Are you ready to take your stand?

  • Look – The second action offered in this verse is look. Hebrews 12:2 commands, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith . . .” As we pause at our crossroads we must look to the Son. He waits to lead us on the path to life.
  • Ask – Thirdly, we must ask for direction. God will never withhold Himself from a seeking heart. He desires to reveal His will, and He sent His Son to make a way for each of us to live out His purpose. 

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives . . .” Matthew 7:7-8

  • Walk – Lastly, once we have heard from on high, we must choose to walk down the path He has revealed. James 1:22 reminds us, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” Our ability to hear means nothing if we aren’t willing to also obey.

If you will take these four steps in obedience to God’s Word, He offers a glorious result: “you will find rest for your soul.” Four acts of obedience leading to one act of discovery, a discovery that is well worth the cost.

Your daily choices will profoundly impact not only our own life, but also the lives of your children and others who follow you. Like Adam, you will watch them reap from the seeds you sow. Let’s be deliberate about sowing seeds of life!

Before you take another step, stand still, look to Jesus, ask His direction, and then follow where He leads. His, after all, is the path to glory.