Depths of Love

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you…” (John 15:9).

“That the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me….that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:23, 26).

How has the Father loved Christ? Think on it, dwell on it. The love of a perfect Father, a perfect God, almighty, all-knowing, all-wise, all-powerful given to a perfect Son—it is this type of love that we are given.

But delve deeper.

At Jesus’ baptism: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22; cf. Mat. 12:18, 17:15). Beloved (Greek agapetos, esteemed, favorite, worthy of love, dear). Pleased. Delighted.

“The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hands” (John 3:35). Honor. Trust. Purpose. Giving of mission.

“The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing….The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father” (John 5:20, 22-23). Revealing in trust. Confidence. Intimate knowledge. Openness. Opening the heart. Desiring his honor. Amazing self-giving between the Father and Son.

“For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again” (John 10:17). Jesus’ trusting obedience and carrying out of his mission is surely one reason of love. But we can denigrate it into a conditional love, based on obedience. But perhaps the deeper issue here is the trust that the obedience is built upon. And the desire to fulfill the plan of the Father that springs from love. Yet, perhaps another mystery—the Father loves Christ because he expresses, in his laying down of his life and self-giving, the heart of God, the image of God, the nature of God. “For God so loved the world, that he sent his only Son…” (John 3:16). God is love, overflowing love, that delights in the well-being of the other, that blesses, that gives mercy and grace, that gives. Christ the Son manifests the heart of God, and God loves him because he is showing him, sharing the same deep, deep, deep infinite heart-pleasure of God himself.

“….be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you…” (John 17:21). Presence. Togetherness. Union. No division or discord.

“…the glory that you have given me….to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:22). Desiring to honor and glorify the Son. Delighting in his glory.

How has the Father loved Christ?

A constant, unchanging love. Not fickle. Not based on his mood at that moment.

An eternal, infinite love that never ends, that was before the beginning of the world. It will not end.

Perfect love. Can we even imagine that?

A delighting love, that was pleased, joy-filled, resulted in joy (John 15:11). Not out of pity or condescension.

A giving love that delights in seeing Christ honored and given glory. A love that blesses.

A confident, trusting love that revealed himself and his works in revealing and showing Christ what he was doing.

An intimate, uniting, one, harmonious love. They were intimately one.

An equipping, entrusting, purpose-giving, Spirit-giving, providing, equipping love that gave Christ all he needed to complete his mission that he was entrusted with (John 3:34; etc.)

Deep, deep love. Profundity, eternity of love.

And now… we are loved by both Christ and the Father with that same type of love. Dwell for a minute, delve deeper, dive deeper. What does it mean for you to be loved with this eternal, infinite, perfect, delighting, giving, intimate, uniting, equipping love??? Deep love. Deep amazement. What more can be said?

Yet, other voices do crop up. Deep in our own heart, other voices whisper.

“I don’t deserve that love.” –No, that is grace.

“I’ve sinned. I’ve lost that love. Christ was perfect; I’m not. Surely the love is different.” –We are in Christ; God views as he view his own Son. We have been given Christ’s imputed righteousness. Will we let ourselves be amazed at this grace? Will we receive that grace? Grace is, ironically, hard to receive. It is hard to be so humble to admit we are so imperfect, we cannot earn God’s love by any means.

“God really isn’t like that. He really doesn’t love that unconditionally, that perfectly, that beautifully.” –The lie that Satan wanted us to believe in the beginning. We must choose to listen to the Truth who tells us the Truth about God, who shows us the Truth about God in each and every touch of the leper, the healing of the sick, the giving of sight to the blind, the forgiving of sins, his death on the cross.

“I don’t experience that love; therefore it must not be real. God seems indifferent, aloof, far off. Why does he allow this _______________ [fill in the blank] in my life right now? This broken relationship, this disease, this trouble?” –The Psalmist also recognizes such paradox, but always reminded himself of reality—reality. God’s truth is more real than our feelings or circumstances. We walk by faith.

Other voices continue in the depths—will we dig into the dark depths of our own heart and bring these voices to light in the infinite light of God’s love? The depth of light is deeper than darkness. God’s love is deep, profound, infinite, amazing. Deep. Deep. Delve into the depths of his love. Don’t hold back. Deeper, deeper. Let his depths wash over you.