Inscrutable...

John 3:16 "... For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever would believe on Him might have eternal life."

1 John 2:2  "...and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world."

2 Corinthians 5:21  "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Isaiah 53:4-6. "Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.  But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.  All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him."

Isaiah 53:11- 12. "As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities.  Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and  was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors."

Once a year at Easter I watch Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion of the Christ.  This film so graphically portrays what Jesus endured on my behalf that I cannot bear to watch it more often.  The physical suffering is so brutal that I I have to force myself to keep my eyes open.  Yet, what the Roman soldiers so sadistically did to the Chosen One of God pales in comparison to His spiritual ordeal.

Isaiah says that the totality of guilt of all our sin was placed on Him; Paul states that the Sinless One became sin on our behalf.  In an instant, as He hung dying on the cross, Jesus was completely estranged from His Father; God turned His back on His Beloved Son.  Thus Jesus' anguished cry, "My God, why have You forsaken me?"

I cannot fathom such a love.  That the Creator of the universe would even take notice of me defies comprehension; it is inscrutable.   But I gladly, wholeheartedly embrace it.  I don't understand it, but I feel it, and it has become the all-encompassing, driving force of my life.  My primary goal is to show Him my gratitude, to have Him be proud to call me His son.

Dear Jesus, as the realization of Your love washes over me, I am overwhelmed with the need, the desire to serve You today.  I desperately want to share that same love with those I encounter,  but I feel so inadequate.  Holy Spirit, please live and love through me.  Amen.