Fear No Fear

“But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together” (Genesis 22:7-8, MEV). No matter what we THINK is going on, Jesus loves us enough to be the sacrifice that gets us back into relationship with Him. God didn’t HAVE to save us. He didn’t even HAVE to make us. He could have kept us as an idea in His head. He could have let Adam and Eve die off, taking on the full payment for their rebellion and letting the human race end. The devil and his angels still would have been punished. Creation still would have wound down. God would have continued. He would still be complete. It wouldn’t have affected who He was. He didn’t HAVE to do this. But He WANTED us. He desired to have a relationship with us. He cared so much about you and thought so many things about you and wanted to talk to you and to hear you talk to Him, that before ANYTHING was made Jesus was volunteering to save you (Revelation 13:8). This is BEFORE you did ANYTHING. Before you could impress Him with your talents. Before you could do good or bad. Before you even had a slate to track. That is when God made the decision to love you. That is when Jesus volunteered to become like us and die, suffering separation from the Father and Holy Spirit that He didn’t deserve, and taking Sin into Himself and paying the price (spiritual and physical death). He knew what you would be like. He knew how you would sound. He knew the decisions you would make. He knew what you would pick to wear and eat and watch and listen to. He knew the friends you’d choose. The partner you would decide to love. He knew all the small, cool, goofy things about yourself. He knew all the serious ones too. He knew the flaws and He knew the positives. He knew your potential. He KNEW you. YOU were worth it. The opportunity to provide YOU with a way to reconcile and get into a relationship with HIM was too much to pass up. He loved you too much. He loved the IDEA of you. He wanted to meet you. To talk to you. To listen to you as you talk to Him. He LOVED you THAT much. He provided the sacrifice so that YOU wouldn’t have to make it yourself.