THE REDEMPTIVE LOVE OF GOD: EXPERIENCE IT TODAY!

Estimated reading time: 16 minutes

Did you know you can experience the redemptive love of God? Do you know that it is available for you? God is your heavenly Father. This means that He has the heart of a Father towards you. And when you add in the fact that He is Perfect. It means that His love for you is unconditional. Obviously, it is hard for some to accept this. For some, it could be that they had an absent dad, or maybe they did not have a relationship with their earthly father. For some, it could be that their father was very harsh or cold. So it can be difficult to reconcile that with God loving you unconditionally. If any of these scenarios is true to you or similar to yours, I have a word for you.

Let me ask you this,,,
Application: In what ways does the redemptive love of God manifest in your life?
Conclusion

God loves you unconditionally. He is not a human being that He will change. His word says so in Numbers 23:19. God is not a man that He should lie or even change His mind. This means that when He says that He loves you unconditionally, He means it. And throughout scripture His redemptive love is evident.

“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Numbers 23:19 NKJV .

The Genesis of it all was when He made provision for the payment of our sins. He already had a plan to redeem us after our mess-up.

The Redemptive Love Of God ensures we do not stay stuck in our mistakes and failures. That is why God works everything for our good. He says so. God never leaves us as He found us. He makes us better than before. When He redeemed mankind He gave us grace in place of law. And He paid the price. He gave us a simple task which is to believe that Jesus is Lord and Saviour and we will be saved. How can we not see the Redemptive Love of God through the finished work of the cross?

Today, I want you to accept the fact that God loves you unconditionally. Accepting this will give you room to accept that His love redeems and that He never wants to leave someone where He finds them. Do you know that God can and will leave the 99 for you? He does not want you to stay as you are because He has better for you.

Look at how God transformed David. He became a king after His relationship with God. Joseph became the prime minister and Esther became queen. God wants you to experience the same transformation in your life. He wants to give you a new beginning and give you a better future. His plan for your life is good and the future He has for you is dazzling.

Let me ask you this,,,

What do you do when you sin against God? Do you run to God or away from Him? Do you allow shame and guilt to drive you away from God or do you with a repentant heart turn to Him? Are you like David who recognized that his strength could only be found in God? Can you like David recognize the redemptive love of God? I love the story of the prodigal son told by Jesus.

And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’ “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry. “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ”
Luke 15:12‭-‬25‭, ‬27‭, ‬32 NKJV

In this parable, a man had two sons, and one of them told him to give him his share of the wealth. The father agreed and divided his wealth and gave the son his share. Shortly after that, the son moved to a faraway country where he squandered his wealth on women and all the worldly pleasures. Isnt this what we do, waste our abilities and talents on worldly pleasures instead of using them for God. How many times have you chosen to do something ungodly with the very things that God has blessed you with?

Obviously, because he did not steward his wealth well, he lost it all, and soon after famine hit. The friends he had abandoned him and he soon realized that he needed to get a job if he wanted to eat. So he went and looked for a job and was assigned to look after pigs. The work environment was so harsh and the only food he got was the one he fed pigs. Have you hit rock bottom because of not stewarding the gifts God gave you well? Maybe you have gotten yourself in trouble because of the choices that you have made. God wants you to know that it is time to come home.

While he was in those harsh conditions, he remembered how well his father’s servants lived and he resolved to go back to his father and ask him for forgiveness. He wanted his father to treat him as one of his servants because he felt unworthy of being called his son. So he started his journey back home. God is waiting for you to come home. He wants you to know that you are never far gone for redemption. The redemptive love of God is available for you even amid your sins. In fact, all that God wants you to do is to come back to Him and allow His love to heal you and make you whole. He will celebrate you when you come back just like the prodigal son was celebrated.

While he was still a distance away, his father recognized him and ran towards him. His father embraced him and was elated to see him. The son, however, full of shame, asked for forgiveness and started making his speech on how it would be best for him to be treated as one of his father’s servants. The father, however, did not care about all that, he was just excited to have his son back. He then instructed his servants to get him a robe and a signet ring and prepare a feast for him. God has a banquet with your name on it for when you come back to Him. He is anticipating your return. What a beautiful story this is. And there are lessons you can get from this story. So let’s see the application and how it relates to us now.

Application: In what ways does the redemptive love of God manifest in your life?

The father in this parable represents God, while the prodigal son represents you and me. How many times have you asked God for something and once He gives you, you turn your back on Him only to remember Him when you hit a dead-end? I am not bashing you because I certainly have done that. The writer in Proverbs even knew how hard it was to still trust God at your best that he prayed and asked God not to make him too rich that he would forget Him or too poor that he would resort to sin to have his needs met.

Have you, like the prodigal son, turned away from God and are experiencing anguish and limitations? God is not waiting with a rod to punish you, He just wants you to come back to Him. He wants you to know that He will never reject a contrite heart and wants you to repent and turn back to Him. Maybe like me you are asking, why then God would give you what you asked Him yet He knows you will turn your back to Him.

God first off is a loving and generous father who wants to shower His children with all these beautiful and amazing gifts. From the beginning of time, God wanted you and me to live in the realm of abundance. It is not His will for you or me to stay in lack. Instead, He wants us to meet our needs and also have enough left for others as well. God always wants to give you exceedingly above all you could ever ask or think of. And therefore, He will bless us. And because His goal is to have a relationship with us, He hopes you will choose Him amid your greatest blessings.

God wants not only to be there for you at your worst. He wants to celebrate with you at your best too. That is what any loving parent wants. And God is our Heavenly Father who wants us to experience the same too.

That is who He is and we also know that He will never deny us perfect gifts when we ask Him. That is why He gives us all these things when we ask Him. God will never change His Character because of our faithlessness. He is faithful even when we are not because He cannot deny Himself and that is who He is. God I s always willing and ready to unleash His Goodness on us. However, because of free will, we have the freedom to choose what we do once we receive what we ask. He will not force us to choose Him when we receive what we prayed for. His desire would be for us to choose to stay in His realm of protection.

Sometimes God will bless you knowing that you will squander your blessing because He wants you to experience the redemptive love of God. You see, sometimes we can only experience the redemptive love of God when we have sinned the most. It is in the failure that you will get to understand God’s grace. And because of this, God will allow you to get the blessing, then lose it for you to experience His grace.

The father knew his son would squander his inheritance. But he still gave him his share. And isn’t it funny that all along, the father knew his son would come back? It says that he saw his son from afar meaning that he had been expecting him. The lesson he learned after his mess-up gave him the realization that he was a son and not a servant. It made him realize he was always a part of the family and he need not go outside the realm of his father to live in abundance.

God wants you to know that everything He has, belongs to you because of your relationship with Jesus. It is for you. And He wants you to come to that realization through experiential knowledge and not just head knowledge. That’s why sometimes He will give you the very thing you asked for, knowing that it will harm you. After all, He knows that it will work out for your good.

Will you still choose God and commune with Him when you receive that which you prayed for?

Unfortunately, when we decide to run away from God and choose our own will, we are saying no to His perfect will and essentially saying no to His protection. When the prodigal son left his father’s home, he, unfortunately, left his guidance, leading, and his protection, and that meant that he had no one to guide him in the right direction. No wonder he ended up in the wrong crowd that took advantage and then left him in his time of need. This is the same thing that happens to us. When we say no to God, we miss out on His protection and His leading. Gods protection is available as long as you stay hidden in Him. He says so in Psalm 91.

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
Psalms 91:1‭-‬4 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/psa.91.1-4.NKJV

Indeed, The Holy Spirit will never leave us, but when we do not spend time with Him we lose the sensitivity to hear His voice and that gives room for other voices. What voices are you submitting to? The Holy Spirit will never lead you down the wrong path and His track record is excellent. But when we are not aligned with Him, the devil will swoop in and send us in the wrong direction, which leads to destruction. John 10: 10 tells us that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came so that we can have life and have it in abundance. Have you liked the prodigal son found yourself in a ditch and do not know what to do? Do you feel like it is the end of the road for you? Do not be discouraged because there is hope for you.

The good thing is that even when you go astray God is more than willing to take you back when you repent because of His love for you. He is waiting for you with His arms wide open. He says that when you repent and turn back to Him, He will forgive you and heal you. And the best part is that as far as the East is from the West He will remember your sins no more.

Do you want to know how redemptive God’s love is? Imagine this, even after Adam sinned, God in his perfect plan devised a way to Redeem the lost relationship between us and Him. He chose Abraham to be the ancestor of Jesus. This is because He wanted fir there to be a legal right to save us. And through His plan, He sent his Son Jesus to become man. Can you imagine giving up your child for someone else? Let’s not forget that God did say that Jesus was His only Son. What amazing love this is that God would willingly surrender His Son for you and me.

Jesus had to let go of his God-nature and come to this fallen world. Can you picture this? Jesus left it all so that he could purchase the price for our sins. Despite all the ridicule and rejection He faced, He still endured it all because He wanted to Redeem you and me. He knew the penalty for sin and He wanted to be the One to bear the cross. He did all this because He loves you and wanted to give you life in abundance in place of death. You have been redeemed. No longer will sin or death rule over you. He paid it all and that means you are debt-free.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 3:16‭-‬18 NKJV

God is today inviting you to come back to Him. Just like the prodigal son did, return to your first love. Your father loves you so much and He is constantly looking out waiting for you to come back. He is so ready and willing to leave the 99 and come for you. His love will chase you down and nothing will ever separate you from His love. He wants you to know that you have not gone too far for Him to redeem you. He already paid it all for you when He sent His Son Jesus to die for you. Will you come back just like the son did?

Conclusion

Beloved, God will never ostracize you that is why John 3:16 says that For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Your identity is in Him and He wants to restore. The same way the prodigal son’s identity was restored, God wants to do the same for you. You are His child and a royal priesthood. It is okay if you do not believe it, just turn to Him and tell Him that you do not and He will teach you and reveal to you your identity through the Holy Spirit.

God is a loving wonderful father and His love for you has no strings attached and also is unlimited. You can never earn His love because it is freely given to you and even when you mess up, He wants to be the first person you run to because the more you spend time with Him the more transformed you become and you will find yourself walking out the identity and purpose He has for you. Do not allow your mistakes to keep you stuck. But let the love of God heal you and transform you.