As we focus on Holy Week, let us remember the reason why Jesus laid down His life for us. In the great exchange, what motivated Him above all is His love for us.

This excerpt is from the e-book, Addicted to Love:
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Foundational Text: Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:37-40 KJV

Love. It will be all the rage in the month of February, with the chocolate and flower ads bombarding us from all directions. Ads trying to convince men that if they really love their wife or girlfriend, buy her something. Preferably something shiny, or, at minimum, something she can share.

In our foundational text, Jesus was answering the question a lawyer raised, "...which is the great commandment of the law..." Here, in Matthew, Jesus sums it up for him and for us: love. Love God with all you have and love everyone else like you do yourself.

Why is that?

In verse 40, Jesus tells us why: everything (all the laws and everything the Prophets have told us) is based on the law of love. Something so simple, yet profound. If we loved God with everything we had, we wouldn't transgress or rebel against Him. If we loved everyone the way we love ourselves, we would be patient, kind, long suffering, tender-hearted!

Love is the foundation upon all is built. It was love that moved God to create a family. It was love that moved God to have a Kinsman Redeemer already in place to bring us back to Him. It was love that gave the laws (the commandments) so that, in the meantime, as we adhered to them, we would live a long, healthy, wealthy, whole life (just read those promises in Deuteronomy!) It was love that not only saved us from eternal damnation, but freed us from sickness and disease as Christ carried it on His back; freed us from demonic oppression as the Blood of the Lamb poured; freedom from poverty as He took the crown of thorns, the symbol of poverty, upon His head. He became poor (He was in heaven where there are no deficits) so that we, through His poverty (let's face it, even Bill Gates compared to God's wealth is poor) might be rich. Love poured itself out for us.

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As we focus on that love that is poured out for us this week, may we so bury that truth in our hearts that we not only live this week in awe and respect of Him, but we allow that seed to flourish and grow so that every day this year we live in awe and respect of the Love that was poured out for us.

May the love of Jesus so overtake you today that you remember you were worth dying for. You have a great purpose and have been born for such a time as this!


In His Grip,

Raquel

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