"And live a life of love, just as Christ has loved us and gave himself up for us a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Ephesians 5:2, NIV*.
A LIFE OF LOVE
To live a life of love is a wonderful idea but what is it? Today love has become polluted and is associated with what one can get; love has become all about me and my feelings. It has become cheap, common, and little.
THE LOVE OF JESUS
The Lord did not live a life of seeking gratification, he lived a life of service and sacrifice; this defines Jesus' love. The verse above refers to his love as a past tense. The past tense points out that his love is proved and evidenced by the history of actions. There are things to look at in the life of Jesus which say this action is love.
HE GAVE HIMSELF
His life was not taken it was given; the death of Jesus on the cross was not an accident, but he gave himself freely. It was on purpose that the Lord left heaven to take on human flesh as a baby to become a man that would die as a substitute for our sins.
WHAT IS SO FRAGRANT?
A fragrant offering is one that is acceptable and pleasing to God. It is one that fully satisfies the requirements of holiness, meaning when Jesus died for our sins it was enough- no more is needed to answer the judgment of God.
Jesus' love compelled him to become a servant and he did what no other servant could do, he paid for the sins of mankind. We will never fully appreciate the depth and awesomeness of that act. All of God's judgment against each man's sin entirely came upon Jesus as he hung on the cross.
OUR PART
For salvation there is no "our part," he did it all, we cannot add to it improve it or make it better. We simply accept by faith what Jesus did on our behalf as our savior. When we trust Jesus as savor he comes into our lives and gives us the power to love as he did.
BACK TO THE BEGINNING
"And live a life of love..." These words are words of commitment, not an accident. We must partner with God's Spirit in us by resolving to live a life of love. We must decide to love and seek sacrificial acts of love to perform.
If you are interested in learning more about how to have Jesus' love in your life follow this link: Click Here.
To read this verse in other translations follow this link: Online Parallel Bible.
© Adron 12/25/12
