Do You Feel the Love?

As I was reading The Reason for God by Timothy Keller, I started to tear up. The author was talking about Jesus, God and the cross and how much God loves us.

The author wrote that the "Son of God was not created but took part in creation and has lived throughout all eternity 'in the bosom of the Father' (John 1:18) that is, in a relationship of absolute intimacy and love. But at the end of Jesus' life he was cut off from the Father. Jesus took our place as sinners and bore the endless exclusion from God. He experienced infinite separation from the Father."

Can you imagine what that would have been like. How would you feel if you were cut off from your spouse? Or child? Or how about your child being crucified?! Can you imagine the pain God went through? Now think about Jesus being separated from his Father where he was once in a relationship of absolute love and intimacy.

Mr. Keller goes on to say "Christianity claims that God became uniquely and fully human in Christ. Therefore he knows firsthand despair, rejection, loneliness, poverty, bereavement, torture and imprisonment. On the cross he went beyond even the worst human suffering and experienced cosmic rejection and pain that exceeds ours as infinitely as his knowledge and power exceeds ours. In his death, God suffers in love, identifying with the abandoned and god-forsaken." And for what reason? "The Bible says that Jesus came on a rescue mission for creation. He had to pay for our sins so that someday he can end evil and suffering without ending us. God takes our misery and suffering so seriously that he was willing to take it on himself!"

Do you feel the love? How can that not encourage you and uplift you? God knows exactly what we're going through and feeling. He's been there and understands. This isn't a God that sits back and watches. He wants to be involved in your life and loves you more than anyone loves you!

For those who don't know God, what do you have to lose by learning more?