Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Luke 20:13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, "What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him."
A SURE THING: GOD'S LOVE GOES TO GREAT LENGTHS
A sure thing? If you are watching the NCAA basketball tournament, you no doubt realize that there are no guarantees despite a high seeding.
In the parable of the vine-dressers, our Heavenly Father teaches us that the boundless nature of His love is a sure thing. Just as the owner of the vineyard willingly sent his son into a hostile situation, so also the Father sent His only-begotten Son to the earth to hostility, hatred, and even hell.
The Lord had no illusions about His Son being respected by the people to whom He was sent. He knew that there would be rejection. And the Father also knew that He would finally have to reject His Son on the cross in order to save our world of sinners.
To what lengths would the love of earthly fathers go? That is unpredictable at best. We could say that we would be far more willing to sacrifice for our sons, rather to make sacrifices of them.
Our love is limited. There are no limitations to God's love. That love which went to lengths that we cannot fathom, is certainly not limited by time. The One who sent His beloved Son into enemy territory centuries ago, still reaches out with that love today -- reaches out to us. That is a sure thing.
