A Love Story — E.A. Johnston

Those of us who are parents know the joy of watching our children grow. Often we have their photos held up by magnets on our refrigerator door. So every time we grab a snack, we see the photo of our little darlings smiling at us.

Or we keep photos of our children in our purses or wallets. I keep a photo of my daughter in my wallet, even though she's a grown woman now. The photo I keep of her is when she was eight years old on the back of a horse.

God's Parental Love for His People

She just loves to ride horses. But every time we look at those photos, our hearts melt within us. With our love for our children, we would do anything for them. When we read our Bibles, we see a picture of a love story between God and his people.

How he woos them and wins them and cares for them and fights for them and keeps them. He has a fatherly, parental love for them. Even Jesus displays this parental devotion in the narrative of Matthew's Gospel, where Christ weeps over Jerusalem and its coming destruction.

Christ's Compassion for Jerusalem

And he laments, Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them, which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered that children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.

The Personal and Sacrificial Love of Christ

When we think about the love of God toward us, it's often hard to fathom the depths of that love. Our human love only reaches so far, and often it is inconsistent or conditional toward the one we love.

But the love of God is truly amazing, that it humbles and inspires at the same time. We see the Apostle Paul marveling at this great sacrificial love of Christ in Galatians 2 .20, we read, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.

Christ's Love for the Rich Young Ruler

In the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. It's a personal love. We even get a clearer picture of the love of Christ in the story, The Rich Young Ruler.

Here is a promising, prominent young man who truly wants to follow the Lord. But upon closer examination, he has a self-discovery of his heart, and he determines to follow his wealth instead of following the Master.

And the text from Mark 10 .21 reads,. Then Jesus beholding him loved him. It broke Christ's heart to watch that young man turn his back on him and walk away. The love of God cannot be measured on human terms.

God's Unfailing Love in Isaiah 49

It's a galaxy in itself. And this brings us to our text today, friends. We are in Isaiah chapter 49 and in verses 15 through 16. When I read this passage, it absolutely melts me with the love of God. I cry just like a little baby.

Listen to this striking passage of scripture about God's fantastic love. Can a woman forget her suckling child? That she would not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget. Yet will I not forget thee?

Israel Inscribed on God's Hands

Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands. Thy walls are continually before me. In Jewish tradition, there is a story representing Israel as God's daughter, who asked him to stamp a seal of her on his heart and arm from a reference to Song of Solomon.

God replies that such a seal cannot always be seen. So he has instead inscribed her upon his palms. An inscribe means a picture, a picture of you, like the one I carry in my wallet of my daughter. But the love of God soars to such astounding heights.

The Cross as the Picture of God's Love

We have here a picture of the son of God with the nail prints of Calvary in his palms. And on top of that picture, on top of that palm is your picture, friend. He loved you so much. He laid down his very life for you so you could live.

And he loves you so much. He carries your photo on top of that nail print to remind him continually of his wonderful love for you. Who can resist that kind of love? I don't know, but some do. Herein is love.

Not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins.