"The Gift We Don't Deserve"
February 13, 2005

The Old Testament Lesson: Psalm 103: 6 - 18
The New Testament Lesson: Romans 5: 6 - 11

To re-enforce that God’s love is pre-eminent

I.  God loves us because of his nature not ours
   A. Why do people love babies?
        1. It is certain that they do.
            a. One day this week, there were two news stories about babies.
            b. Whenever a person walks into the room with a baby people melt
        2. But the question remains, “Why?”
        3. Do babies do anything that cause us to love them?
            a. No!  Babies don’t do much at all.
            b. We make a fuss over the smallest things.
            c. I visited Jake Payne this week and got sentimental over his drool!
        4. Are babies particularly beautiful.
            a. No!  I don’t think many of us long to be bald and toothless.
            b. No one I know wants to carry around that amount of fat!
        5. Do babies even smell good?
            a. Sometimes they smell pretty good.
            b. Hold them very long and that will change!  Then baby needs one!
   B. We don’t love Babies because of the baby but because of our nature.
        1. We see in that baby an affirmation of life.
        2. We respond to the baby’s needs with our desire to give.
        3. We perceive hope for what that baby will one day become.
        4. Friends, that’s the reason God love us!
   C. Don’t fool yourself into thinking God loves you because of you!
        1. No matter what you can do now, God’s love was extended first.
        2. We tend to forget how little we could do at one time.
        3. We think of ourselves in terms of our current abilities and worth.
        4. But there was a time when we could do very little.
            a. There was little to admire about our natures.
            b. Our personalities were less than perfect.
        5. In fact, we have more in common with that former self now than we have with God.
        6. But none of that matters to God.  God loves us anyway.

II.  Knowing that God Loves us should give us great courage.
   A. The knowledge of God’s love is woven into every aspect of our faith
        1. As I was looking up the Old Testament lesson, I was amazed.
            a. The phrase I sought was “slow to anger and abounding in love”
            b. That Phrase appears over and over.
            c. It is in the Pentateuch, the Psalms, and the Prophets.
        2. That God’s essential nature is steadfast love is foundational.
        3. It was the main basis for Israel’s relationship with God.
        4. Don’t let anyone tell you the “OT God” is a God of wrath.
        5. Israel knew their Creator loved and forgave us.
   B. Of course, in the New Testament, that statement in broadened.
        1. Jesus came for the express purpose of rescuing sinners!
        2. He is the primary example of the fact God loves us.
        3. It is in the New Testament that we find the description of God extravagance in love.
            a. There are no limits to how much God loves us.
            b. There is no end in sight of the love of God.
   C. Romans in most clear in talking about God’s love.
        1. God’s love is offered to us when we were in rebellion!
            a. While we were sinners, enemies, in opposition to God’s will!
            b. When we were completely dependant and helpless!
            c. When we deserved all the wrath that God had stored up!
        3. That’s just the time when God proved his love for us!
        4. That’s just like the best parents have to offer.
            a. Children often get themselves into real trouble.
            b. They are afraid to go to their parents because they’ll be mad.
            c. been mad at much lesser problems in the past.
            d. But That’s when we’re surprised!  Parents come through with love!
   D. When we talk about being a place where God’s love is lived, it means first of all knowing God’s love for us.
        1. For this to happen, we need to realize how much we need that Gift.
        2. We also have to realize how little we deserve it.
        3. And we need to know how consistently it is offered to us.

A story I love to use as an illustration of God’s love is an actual event, reported in The Arizona Republic.  Officer Tori Matthews of the S. CA Humane Society answered an emergency call.  A young boy’s pet iguana had been scared up a tree by the neighbor’s dog.  It fell off the tree and into a swimming pool where it sank like a rock.  Tori arrived on the scene an dove into the pool to retrieve the iguana.  When she got it to the side of the pool it was limp and lifeless.  She thought, “Well, you can do CPR on a person or a dog, why not an iguana?”  So she covered the iguana’s mouth and nose holes with her mouth.  (Now that I look back on it, it was a pretty ugly animal to be kissing, but the last thing I wanted to do was tell this little boy that his iguana had died.”  The lizard responded to the CPR kiss and made a full recovery.

When Tori Matthews saved the iguana, she didn’t see an ugly reptile, she saw a beloved pet.  Now, you might not like being compared to an iguana, but that’s about it.  We were that ugly when Jesus dove into our world to save us…Not because we were beautiful, but because he knew of the Father’s love for us!

And as you go from this place, may you walk in the way of Christ Jesus and May God always find you faithful!