Reflecting on John 16:25-28“I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” (John 16:26–27)
I have sometimes heard it stressed that God only loves me because of Jesus.
It is as if Jesus stands between us and keeps God from rejecting or punishing me.
God does not reluctantly extend His love for Jesus to me; God loves me!
God does not love us BECAUSE Jesus suffered and died for us.
Jesus suffered and died for us BECAUSE God loves us.
Calling God ‘Father’ shows that our whole relationship is rooted in love.
The Father came to us through Jesus BECAUSE the Father loved us.
This love is a free gift, not conditional on whether we love God or Jesus.
I am not love only IF I love God or Jesus; I am loved, period!
This is how all healthy parental love works, the love precedes the response.
Yet the child does need to receive that love in order to experience it.
A child that refuses their parents’ love doesn’t stop being loved.
But they will not experience it, they will miss out on it’s blessing.
Jesus is urging us to remember that God is not a stern Judge but a loving Father.
We should not cower behind Jesus, afraid of God’s anger; God Himself loves us!
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, too many people do not relate to God as a loving Father but as a stern Judge, and wrathful deity only appeased by Your death. This is a horrible (and pagan) picture of God. Help us to remember that the Father Himself loves us directly, not just indirectly because of You!