The Depth of the Father's Love Is Overwhelming

We often sing a song in corporate worship entitled, “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”, the text is awfully powerful.  I think that the text is so powerful because it calls us to grips to the depths of God’s love.  The only way that we can remotely understand and comprehend the depths of that love, is through the understanding of the depths and severity of our own sin.  The text actually combats our natural and sinful inclination in which we are tempted to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to.  Though while none of us would readily admit it, we more often than not, live our lives as if we have something to offer God, that there is something that God somehow needs from us.  While the reality is, as the song says, we are “wretch”, people of a despicable character, who undeserving have been made a treasure. 

Furthermore, the reality that this text continues to reveal, is that this undeserving grace did not come without a price, it did not come without a cost.  There was much pain physically and emotionally, as God who was fully human experienced not only physical torture, but humiliation as well.  This grace did not come without a price, it was our guilt upon His shoulders, it was our mocking voices who were crucifying Him, it was our sin that brought Him death, which brought us life.  This is the depth of the love of the Father, this is the depth of our wretchedness, this is the depth of our salvation. 

Therefore as redeemed wretches, what can we boast in apart from Jesus Christ?  Apart from Him we have nothing to offer, we bring nothing to the table; we brought guilt upon His shoulders, He gave us life.  Why should we gain this undeserved grace, this reward?  Our only response can be that Jesus Is Lord!  Christ died for the ungodly. 

Anthony Carter states this point well in an article at Ligonier.org:  “All because of the love of God. Christ left heaven. He laid aside glory, concealing His majesty. He subjected Himself to the creature’s scorn, outcast from a world He created. He suffered demonic attack, lies, and public ridicule. Friends forsook Him. He was brutally beaten, stripped, and put to open shame. Spat upon and slapped, publicly and shamefully executed, He assumed the guilt and punishment for every sin we ever committed. He reconciled us to God and secured our acceptance before God. Why? Because justice demanded it and our justification required it. Because He loved us even before we ever knew Him or understood what He was doing.

Thankfully, now we do.”

How Deep The Father’s Love for Us!

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:6-8