Being IN Love!

 

I'm in love with my wife. I love being around her. I know, at night we sit in the same room and many times we don't even talk. But, I love being in her presence. We have fun together. We do everything together. We spent the last 45 years on a grand adventure TOGETHER! We have cried together. We have worked together. We laughed together. We have experienced real joy together. We are in love with each other. When she is gone I don't just think about what's for dinner. I think about her and she is constantly in my thoughts. 

Are you in love with God in the same way? 

Do you want to know something else - HE IS IN LOVE WITH YOU! AND, he has always been in love with you. ALL OF YOU! His love isn't based on your level of goodness or what sins you have or haven't committed. He loves you. He is like the Good Samaritan who even though he was hated, he still showed love to a man who probably REALLY HATED HIM. Jesus loves those who even say they hate him.

"Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him." (Luke 10:33-35)

For the past few weeks I have been obsessed with the Super Bowl ad from the organization, "He Gets Us!" As I have scrolled through my facebook pages I am so surprised by the number of Christians who are deeply critical of this ad. What? 

Here is the ad, judge for yourself:

Here is a post from a Christian Facebook group I am a part of:

"Perhaps you watched or heard of the 'He Gets Us' commercial that ran during the Super Bowl. The end of the approximately 60 second advertisement concluded with the words "Jesus didn't teach hate. He washed feet. He gets us."

The ending shows a URL address about the campaign. One statement on the site is 'The campaign exists to remind us of the example that Jesus set while inviting all to explore his teachings so we can all follow his example of confounding, unconditional love. Because He Gets Us. All of Us.'. There is no mention of the Gospel or addressing sin. No teaching of why one needs Christ."

This is a 60 second commercial designed to peak interest in Jesus. Are we expecting the entire Gospel in that single minute?

A response to this post went like this:

"He washed his disciple's feet so that they could then go wash others. That's different. He didn't go around washing everyone's feet."

If Jesus were here today, would he have washed the feet of sinners? Would he have shown them an amazing love that is radical, BEFORE they turned to him? 

Jesus died for us. ALL OF US! WHILE WE WERE SINNERS!

And, the Gospel message IS about the abounding love of God. This is a 60-second commercial planting a seed that people need to explore the never-ending love of God and His Son Jesus Christ. If we can just get people to explore or to SEEK, they will find!

"When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." (Romans 5:6-8)

I believe JESUS was SO IN LOVE WITH US, that he would have washed the feet of sinners if it meant they would repent and come to him. 

We are supposed to be so IN LOVE with Jesus that we would sacrifice everything to bring someone to him. This ad, while from a group that may not be perfect, is an invitation to EXPLORE the person of JESUS CHRIST. 

"John said to Jesus, 'Master, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he isn't in our group.' But Jesus said, 'Don't stop him! Anyone who is not against you is for you." (Luke 9:49,50)

This group may have an agenda. They might not fully understand the Gospel message, like many people. However, anytime we can get several million people to explore the love of Jesus, THAT is a good thing! 

Are you so in love with Jesus that you would do anything to share the Gospel. Are you obsessed with Jesus? Do you love Him so much that you would wash the feet of sinners to demonstrate his love for them?