"A Trusted Love"

It seems there is too much sweetener in our understanding love. As a result we make our Heavenly Father a "Heavenly Sweetheart." We take the approach in our sins to God as a God who approaches us in our wickedness saying, "There, there now, I know you didn't mean to be sinful!" But is that really true? There are times we want to behave badly because we are upset about something or someone! Just try to talk to someone when they are angry about something and just see how difficult it is to speak to them about a holy love.

What we need is a love that is a holy love. We are missing true love. People speak of God loving us unconditionally. God's love is holy! A love that isn't holy can't be trusted!! A love that finds no offense in corruption and sinful attitudes isn't holy. A love that yawns at our sins will yawn at the sins of a universe. A god who loves like this is not a god worthy of our worship because he is not a righteous god.

God wants to forgive us and longs to forgive us and made means for our forgiveness by providing a sacrifice of justification. That sacrifice is Jesus Christ. Jesus came into our world and identified Himself with us. But there is another side. He identified Himself with the holiness of God that He offered His Father nothing less than complete, holy obedience. He identified Himself with sinful humanity that He took on our sins because we have sinned against a holy God and dishonored His holy name. He died our death, bore our sin, confessing for us the justice of God's holy judgment.

There we have it! This Lord and Savior Jesus Christ knew what God's love was about and His love was holy. God's holiness was met in Jesus and we as humans can meet and face the holiness of God. Forgiveness is not something just shrugged off by God. It was met in Jesus completely. That's why we repent, we are baptized into His name because God's holiness demands it. God abhors sin and His abhorrence is seen in the cross. Why? Because God loves and this holiness is a love that can be trusted!!