In my last post, I talked about how I love to read. I love to read lots of books, often at the same time. One of those books that I am reading is by Mike Cosper called "Rhythms of Grace: How the Church's Worship Tells the Story of the Gospel." As I am reading this book, I have come across a lot of different parts why I chuckle out loud at how he talks about Israel's disobedicne to God or I will often give the "hmmmm" as I deeply resonate with God's grace throughout scripture. 

Last night as I was reading, something hit me. I was marveled at how Cosper wrote a section and the content of the section. I hated English class and grammer growing up as a kid. However, as I have gotten older, I have come to enjoy being able to craft sentences that pack a punch and articulate complex thoughts. I am still a work in progress by the way! 

I got caught up in the context of God's love for me, for my wife, for my family, and for my church. I was re-reminded and deeply humbled at just how crazy God is and how much he truly does love me. This is not just some theoretical or theological love. God's redeeming love is intoxicatingly mindblowing. 

Here is the excerpt from Chapter 4 that stirred in me and I pray will do the same for you: 

What a strange turn of events. God, in a whiff of thought and will, could have wiped the universe clean and started over again. But he didn’t. Instead, he took our burden of shame and guilt upon his own shoulders, endured the scorn and humiliation of the cross, and died the death our sins deserve. What would motivate such radical, loving sacrifice?

The answer, in a word, is love. Love makes people do crazy things. The stories we tell in literature and film are full of examples of the crazy things people will do for love. Love empowers Odysseus through madness and suffering, driving him desperately and longingly back toward home. Love makes James Potter stand in front of Voldemort’s killing curse to protect his wife and child, and gives his wife the courage to do the same. It sends Prince Phillip through a forest of thorns and into war with a dragon to rescue Sleeping Beauty. It’s the motive behind a thousand songs and poems. It’s woveninto the fabric of our universe because it’s reflective of the very heart of God.

Love is what sends Jesus into the humble estate of Mary’s womb. It leads him through his quiet life, his rambunctious public ministry, and his agony at Golgotha.

Long before the birth of Jesus, God told Israel that they were his bride, and their failure and abandonment of him made them like a whoring wife. Through the prophets, we see the broken and grieving heart of God, saddened by the chaos and destruction of the wondrous world he created.

In Christ, that failed marriage became a success, because Jesus was willing to shed his own blood to preserve it. Paul tells us that somehow, in the mysterious foreknowledge of God, the very concept of marriage has always been a metaphor for the love of Christ for his church (Eph. 5: 32). It was love for his promised bride that compelled him to the cross. “For God so loved the world . . .” (John 3: 16). [1]

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[1]Cosper, Mike (2013-03-31). Rhythms of Grace: How the Church's Worship Tells the Story of the Gospel (Kindle Locations 911-918). Crossway. Kindle Edition.