God is Passionate

The Christian faith teaches that God is personal
God has a will, a consciousness, and a "personality" if we can use that limited human word. God is not just an impersonal life force, and neither is God contained in something God created. God is not a tree, a rock, the water, or the air. God is distinct from his creation, but his beauty and creativity can be seen in what he created. Just as an artist is not the painting, but the artist's personality and skill are seen in the painting, so God is not creation, but his nature can be seen in what he created.

And God is also passionate
God passionately desires to have a relationship with us - the creatures he created. The Bible teaches that God is seeking us out. Often people will say they are searching for God, but the reality is just the reverse. God is seeking us! God desires to be known. He is not hiding. Quite the contrary. He wants to be in relationship with us and he went to extraordinary measures to make that possible.

Years ago I was vacationing at a summer cabin in the beautiful state of Vermont. The cabin was on a small lake with a hotel and golf course down at one end. One morning there was a great deal of commotion going on by the hotel's beach. Hundreds of people in swim suits gathered for the beginning of a mini-triathlon. I got out the binoculars to watch the start. "Bang" went the gun and the water exploded with swimmers. As the pack thinned out I was amazed to see one swimmer towing a rubber raft behind him as he swam. It looked like someone else was lying down in the raft. I was so curious about what I witnessed that I quickly rode my bicycle over to the hotel to see the swimmers as they exited from the water.

The man towing the raft came up out of the water. He was probably in his 50's, very fit and full of energy - and he was even beating many of the racers who weren't towing a raft! He unbuckled a harness that held the rope to the raft. I watched as he bent over the yellow raft and then lifted someone up. He carried the thin body of a young man to a specially designed racing bike that had a seat on the front covered with curved plexi-glass. In no time they took off on the second leg of the triathlon.

Someone standing nearby noticed my curiosity and told me the story behind the duo. Then years later I saw the two of them again, this time in an article in "Parade" magazine (1/2/2000). Their names were Dick and Rick Hoyt. Rick was born with cerebral palsy. Now he is a graduate of Boston University and works at the university helping to design a new computer called "Eagle Eyes" which is controlled by eye and head movements. Rick can't talk or use his arms or legs but when Rick was a child his father, who was always a strong athlete, had a hard time relating to a son who would never throw a ball or even walk. Eventually, he hit on the idea of them racing together. Imagine how hard it is to run in a triathlon or marathon under normal conditions? But this dad, as an expression of his love for his son, gladly makes the superhuman effort of competing together as a team. Over the years they have participated in over 780 races including 55 marathons and 149 triathlons!

What I remember most vividly was the sheer joy on Rick's face as his father carried him to the bicycle. It was beyond words. All because he knew what it meant to be surrounded by his father's extraordinary love.

God is love, but God isn't just love. God is also justice
He has a nature and that nature defines for the universe what is right and what is wrong. What is in harmony with his nature is "right" and what is contrary to his nature is "wrong." This is what the Bible calls "Sin" - that which is contrary to God's nature. God's person has moral character. It's his call, not ours. And God cannot label what is contrary to his nature as acceptable. God cannot deny his own nature and cannot allow what is anti-God into his presence.

Think of a cup of pure water on a hot day. You're incredibly thirsty. But someone adds a drop of deadly poison to the water. Is it pure anymore? Of course not. The whole glass has been contaminated. Would you be willing to drink it? No. It is deadly. You would be foolish to do so.

This wonderful world God created was created good
But now it is not as God intended it to be. If you take a new tennis ball and drive a 6-inch nail through the middle it's not going to bounce right. It will be off center. That's the way our world is now. That's the way we are. We're off center. And this is not something we can fix on our own. It is as though we have a spike through our hearts. A tear in our souls. No matter how much we pour in it pours out like a bucket with a hole in it.

Jesus went to the cross to satisfy the dual nature of God - God is love and God is justice.
They both meet in Jesus' death. And his death did not take him by surprise. He knew that was the plan from the beginning. In the Gospel of Mark, chapter 8, Jesus tells his followers that he must go to Jerusalem and die, and of course they are shocked. Then in the Gospel of John (18:6) the soldiers come to arrest Jesus in the dark of night. In the shadows they say they are looking for Jesus. Jesus says "I am he" and all of the soldiers were knocked to the ground! It was as though Jesus let a little of his power out just so they would know that he could have stopped them if he chose to. Later he said, "I lay down my life on my own accord. No one takes it from me."

Jesus surrendered his life willingly as an expression of the passionate love of God for you and for me
As the only sinless One, he was the only one who could pay the penalty for our sins and be our substitute. The Bible teaches this so clearly. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 the Apostle Paul wrote, "Christ who knew no sin, became sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God." And again Paul wrote in Romans 5:8, "God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were sinners Christ died for us." And in 1 John 4:10 it says, "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins." Christ took our punishment, our penalty. He satisfies God's justice and demonstrates God's love. Jesus took the spike for us.

If you stand before God and say, "I tried to be good. I went to church. I was a nice person" all God hears is "I, I, I." Your own efforts won't fix the problem. Lots of people say they believe in God. Lots of people say they pray. But having a relationship of faith with God is so much more than that. Many people live under that same roof but have no real satisfying relationships with each other. It is the same with Christ. As we invite him into our lives it is like inviting him to come into your home.

It is a relationship of intimacy and trust so that he is not stuck in a hard chair in the formal living room -- but the kind of relationship where you would say, "Here are my children. Will you take care of them? Would you take my credit cards and checkbook? Here are the keys to my car. Please, look after my finances. Here's my retirement account."

God passionately wants to enter into that kind of relationship with you
The only human experience that compares with God's invitation is a marriage proposal. When someone says, "Will you marry me?" it requires a response. To say, "I believe in you" or "You are very important in my life" or even "I love you"…those are not the right answers!

I invite you to respond to this God who is Personal, Powerful and Passionate
Here's a simple prayer to get you started. If it reflects the desire of your heart you can begin this new relationship with God this very moment.

Dear Lord Jesus,
I know that I am a sinner and need your forgiveness. I believe that you died for my sins. I want to turn my life over to you. I say "Yes" to your invitation. Please come into my heart and life. I want to trust you as my Lord and Savior and become a Christ-follower. In Jesus' name. Amen.

If you prayed this prayer or have further questions about the Christian faith, please email me and I will respond jeff@pcnp.org.

Jeff Ebert Senior Pastor Jeff@pcnp.org

"He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life." 1 John 5:12-13

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