His Love Don’t Cost (You) A Thing- Lavish Day 3

Hi friend,

I’m glad you’re here! Today’s post cannot be understood with (just) the human mind. The Holy Spirit needs to bring illumination. So we’re going to ask him to do just that. Please play the song below and ask Him to shed light on today’s post and illuminate your spirit. These words are spirit and life and I pray that you receive them well and bear fruit.

Now let’s get right to it. God’s love does not cost you a thing. This does not mean it was free though. It cost Him everything. It cost Him his blood. Salvation is free but make no mistake, it wasn’t cheap. The truth is that salvation is too costly for you to be able to afford it. Even if you were the most perfect person on earth, it still would not be enough to pay the price.

Imagine a child trying to pay his mother back for the pains she endured while she was labouring to birth him? She does not expect him to pay her back. It is her pleasure to endure the pain of birthing him for the joy of holding him in her hands and becoming his mother. From the moment he is born she already loves him, even when he can’t fend for himself and is a mewling suckling babe. The things the child does for her only serve as an additional source of joy/love. With or without that, she loves her child. Nothing that child does will ever be able to compensate her for what she endured. Now, because her son knows he is loved, he will strive to reciprocate that love and will always consider his mother in all he does. He will actively search for ways to make her happy. It is not his actions or inactions that make his mother love him. Her love for him exists outside of whatever he does. It just is. She has loved him since she realised she was carrying him in her belly. Before his body parts were even formed.

Think of the pain every mother endures in labour. Think of the blood, water, groaning and tears. Once the baby is born, the mother discounts the pain. She knows the child she holds in her arms is worth more than any pain she has had to endure.

It is the same with Christ.

'We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. '

Hebrews 12:2

Dear reader, YOU WERE THE JOY SET BEFORE CHRIST.

I want you to take a moment to let that sink in. You were the joy set before Christ.

Look, Jesus Christ is GOD. The Bible tells us He made the whole world and nothing that exists was made without Him.

'In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. '

John 1:1-4

His throne is an eternal throne. He already owns and reigns over everything. The joy set before Him was not a throne, or His position at the right hand of the Father. He never lost his place in the Godhead. He had been God from before the foundations of the world were laid. HIS POSITION WAS NEVER AT RISK.

'Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. '

Philippians 2:6-8

Christ lowered Himself to redeem you!

The Father only restored Christ to the glory that he shared with Him from before the foundations of the earth. Which is why Jesus said:

'I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began. '

John 17:4-5

I’m going to say it again. You were the joy set before Christ. His joy was reconciliation with you. He endured nails being hammered into his palms because he wanted you to choose Him and have free unfettered access to him. He did it simply because he loves you. All He wants from you is to receive His love and live your life in response to His love. He doesn’t care about your perfection. He wants you to become like Him in every aspect and you can only achieve that by gazing upon him and resting in His love.

We’re going to seal these truths in our heart with words from the Bible. To understand who you are in Christ and who Christ is, the word of God is the best guide. The book of Colossians is so rich. It captures the essence of the gospel so beautifully.

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. '

Colossians 1

Isn’t that glorious? You stand before God without A SINGLE FAULT! There’s more though…

'And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it. You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.'

Colossians 2:6-23

I want you to actually think on these things…there’s no record of sin anywhere once you believe. Christ purchased you with his precious blood. You are pure forever.

I’ll leave you with these beautiful songs as you spend time with the Holy Spirit.

If you feel a nudge to rededicate your life to God and renew your commitment to Him, please do it! He’s been waiting. Feel free to send me a message via the contact form on the site as well if you need any help.