I love a good love story.
In The Notebook, the second Noah makes Allie lay down in the middle of the road to watch the traffic light change, I was a goner. Engagement stories are among my favorites… especially, when he’s planned to pop the question in a way that is perfect for her. Or lovers who travel for hours upon hours hoping for a brief moment with their beloved. Not to turn all Disney on you, but I love it when street smart Aladdin gets weak in the knees and ends up showing Jasmine the world. Then there’s Cinderella with the prince who stops at nothing to search throughout the kingdom with the only clue to her identity as the magical glass slipper. There’s Romeo and Juliet, who tragically chose to risk everything rather than be apart.
Love makes you do things that would otherwise be considered completely irrational.
That kind of love is only a dim reflection of the crazy, stupid over-the-top grace of God. No rose-filled rooms or penned poetry compares.
It’s so much more than that.
God’s grace to us is motivated by his love for us. “For God so loved the world…” Now that’s pretty irrational. What is the creation really capable of giving its creator? Honestly, it’s not much. But there it is. He loved us.
But not only does He love us. He loves us with a fierce love.
“…that He gave His one and only Son.”
My mind can’t even wrap around that thought. I have my own one and only son. I can’t think of even one thing for which I’d give him up. When I consider the account of Abraham, who WAS asked to give up his one and only son for God, I’m don’t think I could truthfully say I’d be able to obey like he did. Sure, I’d love to think that I would trust God that much… and maybe if that was in my story, I’d be able to do it. But as I sit here in my dining room and consider the possibility, my gut tells me that he’s extremely valuable and precious to me and even for a perfect and holy God, I’d likely hold him back. So my brain explodes when I realize that He gave His one and only Son for people like me-His enemies (Romans 5:10)
That is absolutely crazy.
It’s stupid.
Of course, I’m not calling God crazy or stupid. Don’t get me wrong. He’s so over-the-top in His grace for us because of His love that when we look at it from a cost and benefit perspective, the only conclusion we can come to is that it’s foolishness. I Corinthians 1:18 says the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. Yet somehow, when you become the recipient of that crazy, stupid, over-the-top grace, the clouds are parted and God’s immeasurable power becomes clear.
His power to rescue us from the punishment our sins deserve.
His power to use us in spite of us.
His power to change us.
His power to give us a glimpse of who He is.
He is.
Dana Vaudrin 