Because I Love You

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t’s amazing what you can learn while eating lunch!  One particular Wednesday, I was looking for something really good to eat and that meant I had to get out of the kitchen and visit a place that offered wonderful food.  I went to Julie’s Fresh Kitchen (this is the restaurant where I worked while attending seminary) and, as usual, the place was packed.  I grabbed a menu, located an empty table, seated myself, and began making the agonizing decision of what to have for lunch.  Everything looked exceptional; but I could only select one thing to eat.

While I sat there musing over the menu, Jody, the owner, came over to say hello.  He indicated that a good friend of mine was sitting in the next section and asked if I’d like to join him.  Not fifteen minutes prior to that I had tried to call Chris to see if he wanted to meet me at Julie’s for lunch.  Isn’t it neat how God just works things out for us?  I picked up my menu, silverware, and iced tea, and went to join Chris at his table.  Fortunately, he hadn’t ordered yet, so our food arrived at the same time.  Chris opted for the pot roast and I went for the turkey and dressing.

After our food arrived, Jody came over and sat down with us for a chat.  He always did this with his customers and I loved it.  His youngest son, Jonathan, joined in our conversation.  Jonathan was wearing a new T-shirt that his dad bought for him.  Jody told us about purchasing these items for Jonathan.  They just happened to be directly related to Jonathan’s favorite hockey player.  So, he bought them for him, and, as you can guess, Jonathan was very happy.

When asked why his dad had purchased the items for him, Jonathan simply answered, “Because he loves me!”  And in that statement, was the focus for a Tidbit.  You never know what God will teach you over a plate of food.  God’s lessons are all around us and he takes every opportunity to teach us about himself if we will just open our eyes, ears, and hearts and listen to his voice.

That Wednesday was such a day for me.  After Jody left our table and long after I left the restaurant, I mulled over in my mind the conversation that had taken place during my lunch hour.  Without Jonathan ever mentioning the T-shirt and other items, Jody knew he would be happy with him. He knew this because he knew Jonathan.  He knew what would make him happy, he knew what his interests were, and he also knew Jonathan couldn’t get those things for himself.  So, as any good father would do, Jody purchased the things for his son and gave them to him.   He did this just because he loved Jonathan and wanted him to have that T-shirt.

What a wonderful picture of what God has done for us.  Long before you and I were ever born, long before our great, great, great, great, grandparents were born, before the earth was even created, God made provision to give us something just because He loves us.  To understand God’s gift, we need look no further than the most often quoted verse of scripture in the Bible, John 3:16.  Here, Jesus tells us plainly, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Although this verse is well known, don’t be in such a hurry that you neglect to understand its full meaning.  Look at the ninth word in the verse.  That word is “gave.”  Stop and think about that word for just a minute.  Think about its implications and meanings.  When you give someone something, you think about them and select the gift with them in mind.  You only want the best for them and you purchase the very best gift you can because they mean so much to you.  Now, if that is how we feel and act when we give a gift, just imagine how much more wonderful God’s gift and reasons for giving are.

God sent Jesus to pay for our sins because he had our best interest in mind.  He knew us before we were ever born and he determined to give us the very best he had to offer.  He did not do this because we deserve it, we don’t.  He didn’t do it because we are worthy, we aren’t.  He didn’t do it because he had to, he didn’t.  He did it because he loved us and for no other reason!  That is so hard for us to understand because we don’t understand pure, unconditional love.  But that is just the way God loves you and me, unconditionally.

Furthermore, God did not send Jesus to save us because he needed us; he sent him to die because he wanted us!  What a humbling thought that is.  The God of the universe sacrificed his own son because he wanted us!  he wants us despite the fact that we are sinful, despite the fact that we are selfish, despite the fact we are imperfect, despite the fact that we are arrogant, despite the fact that we fall so far short of what we were meant to be.  Like Jonathan’s father, God knows we could never save ourselves, never pay the price for salvation, never find our way in the darkness.  So, he paid the price, he lit the path, and he gave us salvation through his son. He did all this because he loved us.  What a wonderful God we serve!

In closing I want to leave you with something I heard a pastor say in a sermon.  I think it speaks directly to what God did for us on Calvary all those years ago.  It is possible to give and not love but it is impossible to love and not give.