Gospel Reflections #86: The Battle: the nature of love versus the nature of sin

Luke 9:56 "The Son of Man came not to take away the lives of men, but to save them."

When mankind sinned, God did not expel Adam and Eve right away, but first declared war against Satan, who brought sin into the world, to reclaim mankind.

God declared war against Satan to get us back. God's only weapon in this battle is love. The battle between God and Satan is a battle between the nature of love and the nature of sin. God never uses sinful nature. Only love.

He seeks us out, forgives us, embraces us, envelops us, covers us, heals us, restores us, builds trust in us, gives us hope, and remakes us.

And God's greatest love took our place in the cruelest way of death at that time on the cross in this world. At that time, He did not point out our sins, ingratiate Himself with us, or ask us to pay a price for them, but He sacrificed Himself for us silently and willingly.

This is because God longs to get us back and live with us. He did not save us because we are great or because we are hard workers, but He gave His life out of His love for us and His single-minded desire to restore us.

The disciples who were with Jesus could only know Him in their human thoughts. Even so, Jesus accepted them and related to them with love and patience. God is a God who does not forcefully pull us up from above but gently supports us from below.

If we touch even a little bit of God's love, we will not be the same as we were before. God's love makes everything new!

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This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, a devoted student of the Bible who passionately embraces the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on the Gospels as a way to reach out to others and spread the message of Jesus. We're sharing her message here so that you too can experience the joy that comes from the Gospel that has filled her heart.