Never Stop!
“This is how much God loved the world: He gave His Son, His One and only Son. And this is why: So that no one need be destroyed; by believing in Him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life!” This passage of scripture is found in the Gospel of John, chapter three, verse sixteen - in the Message version of the Bible. This chapter and verse of the Bible is probably the most known, read, and graffiti-sprayed verse on the planet! Yet each one of us at different times in our lives have taken this very gift for granted. Our Father loved us to the point that he gave up the very One who meant the most to Him!
As I was reflecting on this very verse, and this thought this week, something came over me, and I said aloud…. “What if JESUS would have said no, or what if, while JESUS was in the garden, prior to the Romans seizing Him, He would have said “no more, this is too much!” What if our Heavenly Father would have made the decision to keep His Son on the throne, instead of sending Him to the cross. What if JESUS said… “enough, they’re going to have to rely on the blood of goats and lambs, not on the blood of this Man!”
I’m so thankful that JESUS never stopped! His perfect mission was completed! The plan from the beginning was not changed! The sacrifice was carried out… perfectly, without waver. JESUS never stopped! He never stopped the pain, agony, and suffering. JESUS never stopped the ridicule and mocking that came at him from every angle. JESUS never stopped His own creation from crucifying Him! JESUS never stopped loving you, now or ever!
So why do we get in a place in our faith where we just tend to coast and drift and then eventually just give up?! I see Believers today coasting, and then they get to a point in their walk with JESUS where they tend to give up - and it is never justified nor is it healthy. How many times have I thought about giving up and going back to the “easier walk of life” (as the world would call it!). How many times have I said, it is time to stop and just go after myself and have it my way and do my own thing? I’m so thankful that JESUS stopped just long enough on this planet to be crucified for me and that He never stopped loving me through it - and only embraced me more when I continued to not recognize what He really did for me on that cross - where He never stopped to think about Himself… but only thought about me!
Today, stop long enough to reflect on the cross and His love for you… and NEVER STOP going after Him and the plan He has for your life!