If You Think Loving Is Not Worth the Risk

Those wounds have brought a distrust of others and a fear of closeness. Reaching out in love again seems too risky, but life inside self-protective walls is lonely.

Loving is risky. Jesus Christ, the perfect Lover, devoted Himself to others and they crucified Him! He knew many would reject His gift of love, but still He chose to love. He formed close friendships even though He knew one of those friends would betray Him. Jesus did not protect Himself. His love said, "I'll love you even though you don't deserve it."

The Bible says it this way: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

Think about it.

"For God so loved the world . . ."

Our world measures 25,000 miles in circumference. That seems significant until you begin to explore space. Earth is actually one of the smaller planets in our solar system. It is said 1,300,000 earths would fit inside the sun. But the sun is only a medium-sized star in a galaxy of over one hundred billion stars. Traveling around the edge of this galaxy at 150 miles per hour would take 225 million years. Lost in the enormity of space, our world becomes the epitome of insignificance. Yet God loved the people on this planet so much . . .

"that he gave his only begotten Son . . ."

The God of no boundaries sent Jesus to this miniscule planet. Jesus was confined to humanness. Mankind suddenly had God living among them. God did not just tell how to love: He showed how to love.

Talk about rejection; Jesus knew it. The religious leaders refused to believe Him. The people of His home town tried to throw Him over a cliff. His own family thought He had lost His mind. He was betrayed by one of His twelve closest followers. Jesus was arrested, lied about, and spit upon. And when He looked for His friends, He saw Peter, who had vowed to die for Him, cursing while he denied even knowing Jesus.

Jesus was, as Isaiah 53 says, "rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief." Mankind crucified Jesus.

Was that the end of His love? Absolutely not! In those hours of excruciating pain, Jesus was thinking of us all the humans from the beginning to the end of time. He died for us. He was buried, but the grave could not keep Him. Three days later Jesus burst out of that tomb alive proving that evil would never triumph over the power of His love. God sent Jesus so that . . .

"whosoever believeth in him should not perish . . ."

What would you have felt had you been on the jetliner when it rolled and headed straight for the ground? Whatever your feelings in those moments before impact, they are nothing compared to the horror you should be feeling if you have ignored Jesus Christ.

Without Jesus, your life is crashing out of control; hell is looming closer and closer. Explosion on impact is kindness compared to hell. Hell is forever.

In our moments of anguish here on earth we can cry out to God, but the worst part of hell will be His absence. Unquenchable fire, wailing, torment, forever? Yes. Love? None. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved! Jesus came so you would not perish . . .

"but have everlasting life."

Think of springtime with its signs of new life exploding all around. Yet everything with life as we know it dies. Jesus came to give life that never ends.

When Jesus becomes the Lord and Saviour of your life, you are united with Him; His life becomes yours. In Christ you find forgiveness for sin, purpose for life, and the promise of living forever in heaven with Him. The life that Jesus gives is the only real life, for it gives power to live above evil and to love as He loved.

What love! God is offering it to you. Will you accept? His love will bring healing to the hurts of your past. His love will teach you to forgive and to break out of your self-protective walls. His love will fill you and flow out of your life to others.

Rejection will still happen. Some will treat you as they treated Jesus, but you will be able to forgive and to keep on loving because it is not your love but His. With Jesus, loving is worth the risk. Take the risk!

IF YOU WANT A Changed Life

Of Your Pride -- Humble Yourself.
    "The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit" (Psalm 34:18).

Of Your Sin -- Confess to God.
    "Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously" (Hosea 14:2).

Of Yourself -- Change Masters.
    "Then said Jesus . . . If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24).

Of the World -- Yield Your Desires.
    "Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2).

LET GOD

Give You Salvation.
    "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Romans 10:9).

Give You a New Heart.
    "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:26).

Give You a New Life.
    "Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God" (Romans 6:13).