Monday, January 15, 2018

Reflections on Galatians 2:20 (9)



“I I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and 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.” Galatians 2:20.

“...who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

When I was a young Christian I used to hear people say, “If you had been the only person on earth Jesus would have come and died for you.” It sounded nice, and I even said it to others, but there were times I wondered if it were really true - would Jesus have really died on the Cross if I were the only person on earth? I could easily tell others how much Jesus loved them, but I found it hard to believe that He really loved me (I still struggle with that at times).

Then one night about 15 years ago I was watching and listening to an ALPHA video presentation by Nikki Gumbel in our church dining hall. I wasn’t doing much on that ALPHA course, and was mainly there to provide encouragement to the people who were leading it for our parish - so I was pretty relaxed and enjoying the ride. Among the Scriptures that Nikki was reading was Galatians 2:20. I love Galatians 2:20, it is a foundation stone of my thinking and (I hope) my life, it integrates what I consider the critical elements of the Gospel, including how we are to live. I can’t count the times I’ve read Galatians 2:20 and quoted it and talked about it.

But that night, as Nikki Gumbel read Galatians 2:20,  I “heard” something that I had never heard before, I heard the word “me”, and not just once but twice. “...who loved ME and gave Himself for ME.” I almost jumped out of my seat, my soul was filled with excitement, my heart leaped, and my mind was on fire - Paul knew that Jesus loved HIM and gave Himself for HIM - and I realized that Paul’s ME could be my ME, in fact it was my ME, not once but twice. Jesus loved me and He gave Himself for me. Yes, had I been the only person on earth Jesus really would have come and loved me and died for me. Oh my, what a thought, what a reality, it was all I could do to contain myself that evening.

Galatians 2:20 is about the love of God in Christ, as is the Gospel. I am crucified with Christ because God loves me and provided a way from death to life through death on the Cross. Nevertheless I live, God knew me before the creation of the world, He designed me, and in Christ He restores His image in me. Yet not I but Christ lives in me, through the love of God I have been brought into union with Jesus Christ, into an intimate relationship. I live by the faith of the Son of God, Jesus lives in me and through me, His life is in me and I am learning to dance with Him. Miracle of miracles, Jesus loved ME and gave Himself for Me.

Jesus loves you too...oh how He loves YOU too! And if you were the only person on earth Jesus would have come and died for you...for that is just how much God loves YOU!

I am reminded of the chorus:

“Oh how He loves you and me, oh how He loves you and me.
He gave His life, what more could He give.
Oh how He loves you. Oh how He loves me.
Oh how He loves you and me.”

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

No comments:

Post a Comment