Tag: Selah

The next entry for my Blog is How Deep the Father’s Love for Us, which was written by Stuart Towend and released in 1997.  A link to Selah performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

How Deep the Father’s Love for Us

How deep the Father’s love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory
Behold the man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

The song starts out by posing a challenging question / statement. We can measure the depth of a hole we just dug for a fencepost, we can even measure the depth of an ocean, but how do we measure the depth of a feeling or emotion such as love? I may say I love someone with all my heart, but how I do I measure this love? I think the real answer is that we cannot measure the depth and breadth of love. As much love as we may have for someone, God has this much love and more for all of his children, a love that is even deeper and stronger than our minds can conceive. I suppose the next question that aligns with the song is, are you willing to sacrifice the person you love the most so that other people can benefit? Some of those who would benefit are perhaps people who we don’t even like, don’t want to be around, and most of whom we do not even know? Would you be willing to sacrifice the one you love with all of your heart so that others can gain eternal life? I am sure many people would say, sure I would; how can I not do this to help other people. As you let this soak in for a few minutes, could you really do it? This is what God did for all of us when he let Jesus go to the cross, he let his perfect son die for everyone in an imperfect world so that all of God’s children would have the opportunity to spend eternity with him. John 15:13 says, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” In the case of Jesus, he was dying for even those who hated him and those who actually put him on the cross.

God had made the decision to let this happen. Even though he knew that the death of his son was only temporary, can you even imagine what that would be like to lose that person you love the most for even a short time? Some may think, if it was only for a few days and I knew my loved one would come back from death, I can do that. Let’s look at this a little deeper. Suppose that just before the death was to occur, you had to 100% sever the relationship with the one you loved so deeply. It is almost like saying, I don’t love you anymore; yet this is essentially what God had to do to his son while he hung from the cross. In Mark 15:34, we are told that God had forsaken Jesus while he was on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” God turned his back because, as Jesus took on the sins of the world, he was no longer able to commune with God since he was no longer perfect in God’s eyes. It was as if their bond of love and family was broken. Could you imagine experiencing this scenario with the person you love the most, even if you knew it was only for a short time?

Now, let’s switch to us and imagine we were there in the crowd that watched Jesus hang from the cross. Put yourself in the place of the people there who had witnessed the miracles of Jesus, his promise of eternal life, and the one who had promised to return. You believed every word he said, but all of sudden you become drawn in by the crowd and you pick up their chants of crucify him, he is a false prophet, he is not the son of God. You then realize what is happening to you and you feel so ashamed while seeing him on the cross and knowing he is there to take your sins and prepare a home in heaven for you. Jesus stayed on that cross until he absorbed every one of our sins from the past, the present, and the future; he gave his perfect life to make you perfect in the eyes of the father. He stayed there until he had all of the sins of the world, and then he breathed his last breath. The nails could have never held him to the cross, remember that he had the power of an almighty God with him and could have even called angels to protect him. It was solely his love for us and his will to make us perfect that held him there. Not only did he suffer from taking on our sin, he also suffered the rejection of his father. This is what love and sacrifice is all about, God had to let his only son die in one of the worst ways imaginable, so all of us would have the opportunity to join him in heaven. All we have to do is accept Christ as our personal savior and put our faith in him as the son of God. He alone is the way, the truth, and the life; as well as the only way to heaven.

God sacrificed his son to give us a heavenly home, Jesus took on all of the pain and suffering of the world to give us eternity, nothing we achieve or strive to achieve in our lives can even come close to this. I know that many of us, in the midst of conversation with others, almost have a contest of who has been the most successful in our careers, who has accomplished the greatest things, who has the best kids, who has traveled the most; but does any of this really compare to what Christ and the father did for us? Do any of our earthly accomplishments really mean anything when you think of the true meaning of eternity? Instead of trying to prove to others that we were the best in some area, we should be focused on the greatest gift we were ever given and didn’t have to work for, the gift of eternal life.

Maybe the greatest thing we can ever achieve is leading someone to Jesus, all other accomplishments pale in comparison.

Click to Hear Selah Perform How Great the Father’s Love for Us