LOVE OF CHRIST!

“For the love of Christ compels us” (II Corinthians 5:14).

Gravity has a power. It pulls every object towards the earth. The new wine has a power. It bursts the new wineskins. Similarly, the love of Christ has a power. That power compels your hearts.  

Look at the Apostles. They did not do the ministry for money or fame. Even while facing problems and troubles, they stood steadfast in the ministry saying, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”

What sort of love is that of Christ? It is the one which came searching. You do not choose Him but instead, He chooses you. Even when you neglect and boycott Him, He continues to show affection to you. He searches and chooses you similar to how a shepherd searches walking on rough paths and finds the lost sheep.

His love is the one which pities you. With Compassion, Jesus pitied the people who were like sheep without a shepherd (Mathew 9:36). He did every miracle with compassion. There was no hesitation on His part while coming across lepers and He healed them placing His hands on them. He shed over Lazarus’s demise. He lamented saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for me? The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few”. Not only that. He also raised disciples to stay with Him in the ministry.

His love is the one which made Him nothing. Did He not descend on earth renouncing the greatness of heaven? Did He not make Himself nothing by renouncing glory, power, greatness, authority and governance? He had no place to lay His head. The borrowed space in a choultry, borrowed donkey and again a donated cemetery were the order of the day in His life. Paul the Apostle writes: “Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:6-8).

His love is the one which patiently tolerated the sufferings. Have you seen anyone who has suffered so much for you similar to Christ? He patiently tolerated all the reproach, the shame and the lashes for your sake. He shed sweat of blood and prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. The guards slapped Him on His cheek. Jesus Christ poured out even the lost drop of blood for your sake. His is the love which sacrificed even His life. Dear children of God, will you keep praising Him always in the thought of His unforgettable love?   

To meditate: “Remember these, O Jacob and Israel, for you are my servant; I have formed you, you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me!” (Isaiah 44:21).