It's easy when one is overwhelmed and tired to want to give up. To quit the fight. This more often than I like, is me. The other week I had these feelings immensly, and as i lay bawling my eyes out in my bed late at night, the Holy Spirit reminded me why I am in this fight. Why I do, what I do. Why I get so involved in the messy lives of people. Why i care so much. Why i give so much time. Why I must endure.
Jesus. I saw Him carrying His cross. Sweating and bleeding. Bent over. Weary. Broken. Overwhelmed. I saw Him on the cross. Asking God why He has forsaken Him. I saw Him in the garden praying before all of this, asking the Father to take this cup away from Him. I saw the whips beating Him. The sodiers insulting Him. I saw the crowds mocking Him. I saw what looked like utter hopelessness.
But what I also saw.....was Love. Love, that perseveres. Love, that protects. Love, that knows what He is doing. Love, that knows His purpose. Love, that carried the weight of the whole world. The weight of the ENTIRE human race...past, present and future. Love, that see's the victory and knows what is ahead. Love, that is not proud. Love, that keeps no record of wrongs.
Jesus veiled His glory, came to earth as a baby, grew up as a child, became a man, ministered to His people, became involved in millions of people's lives, and eventually died the most horrific death....and then AROSE from the dead, because.....LOVE.
I pray LORD, that Your love may grow deeper in me. That I may have more of a capacity to understand it, to feel it, to be motivated by it, and to live it.
