A LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER – Pastor Chris
Sunday, September 16, 2018
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love (1 John 4:8).
The underlined portion of our opening scripture says God is love. This statement is most clearly understood and depicted by the life and ministry of Jesus. He was love come down from heaven. He was the embodiment and fullest revelation of the Father’s love. He expressed and epitomised the nature of the Father.
The Law of Moses didn’t reveal God as love or a loving Father, but when Jesus came, He called God Father, and the people were amazed because they never knew God as their Father. They knew Him as the Great God; they knew Him as the God between the cherubim and burning candles in the inner sanctuary, but not as a loving Father; they were more acquainted with His judgments. They didn’t know that God could be seen and touched beyond the sanctuary.
Jesus was God’s divine presence in the streets, in the busy crossroads of life, where the bruised, the oppressed, and the downtrodden were. The people went to Him in their multitudes, bearing their sick and oppressed, and He healed them all, demonstrating the love of the Father. Once, while He was teaching in a synagogue, a woman came in; she was bowed over and couldn’t straighten herself. She had been in that condition for eighteen long years.
As she walked in, Jesus called her, touched her, and said, “…Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity” (Luke 13:12). Love reached out and touched her; and instantly, she was made whole. Consequently, the ruler of the synagogue expressed indignation that Jesus would heal someone on the Sabbath day. But read the Lord’s response: “…Thou hypocrite…ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?” (Luke 13:15-16).
This shows us the heart of the Father. Our heavenly Father rules and reigns in love. There’re no barriers, laws, hindrances or obstacles against love. He doesn’t just love; He’s all love; He’s forever gracious and kind! Hallelujah!
CONFESSION
Loving and gracious Father, thank you for the rich deposit of your love in my heart by the Holy Spirit! Through your love in my heart, many are rescued from the deepest depths of sickness, depression, sorrow, pain and misery, and are translated into their place of health in Christ. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY: Nahum 1:7; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17; Jeremiah 31:3
1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Galatians 2:1-21 & Songs of Solomon 1-2
2 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: 1 Timothy 3:1-7 & Jeremiah 34
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