Jamie told me recently about a
conversation that she and Eden, our almost 3 year old, have almost daily. It usually starts with a frowny little girl
saying, "I'm sad that Jesus died on da cross." Then, she will
brighten up as she states, "But He was happy to die." Then, Jamie prompts her by asking, "Why
was He happy to die?" To which Eden
replies, "Because He wants us to go to heaven to live with Him forever." Little reminders like these make it easier to
understand "unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter
the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3) It doesn’t make sense, does it? The
perfect, all powerful God of heaven disrupted the ideal nature and the calm of
His heavenly home to create…people. But, why? Why did He make us? Why does
He love us? I have wondered how much I could possibly ever love a person who
had helped cause the death of my child, yet God does just that. “But God shows
His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom
5:8) Even though He knew we would fail Him. He knew we would struggle to live
like we love Him. He created us, and He sacrificed His ONLY Son for us.
Love is the only answer that makes
any sense…and even that idea stretches greatly my capacity for love. You see,
we are made in the “image” of God. (Gen 1:26) He made us like Him in various
ways. To fathom God’s desire to make me, I think back to my own desire to
become a father. I certainly knew my children would, at some point, let me
down. Even in their innocence, they don’t always make my life easier. But I
chose fatherhood so that I could LOVE my children.
This is the explanation that God
gives for making and loving us unconditionally. “Looking to Jesus, the founder
and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross, ..” (Heb 12:2) We are His joy. Providing us with a chance to
be saved is what caused our Father in Heaven to create us, and it is precisely
what held Him to the cross. He truly was
"happy to die."
----Darrell
Powell
