The love of Christ.... who can comprehend it? Can we try in our small finite minds to grasp a greater understanding of it? God help us to see His love as it really stands. Pray, yes pray that God would somehow help us to see how much His love cost Him. In giving Jesus... He gave all. Nothing, absolutely nothing in heaven was withheld. Because of His great love, Christ trod the path of tears and grief here on earth. Because of His everlasting love, He suffered, bled and died, the creator at the hands of His creation. Because of His infinite love the father and son were torn apart as the penalty for a guilty world was laid on the sinless heart of Christ! Divine love, without parallel! May God help us to comprehend the length, breadth, depth and height of this love. In reality, as sure as we are living today!

Do we have anything that is of equal value, or even comes close to the gift heaven gave for us? No! A thousand times no! The best we have to offer is so tiny when compared with the gift of our saviour's love & sacrifice. But what can we do? Surely there's some way we can show our gratitude for what our saviour has done to save us from our sins. And Yes, there is!

The Bible says:

"For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:" - 2 Corinthians 5:14

When it hits us... when we begin to catch a glimpse of the infinite love of God for us it does something... Yes, it constrains us. It holds us back, it stops us right in our tracks.

Christ died for all. Why? To deliver all from being slaves to sin. Therefore we conclude that all of us were dead in sin. Yes, all of us, by disobeying the loving laws of our creator we have all contributed to the pain and suffering of our saviour as he bore the sins of entire human race. We have all caused sadness and grief in heaven because we went against our loving Redeemer.

What does the love of Christ constrain us from?

"And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again." - 2 Corinthians 5:15

This is what it does to us! When the reality of Christ's love begins to dawn on us. We realise that the greatest thing we can do to show our appreciation and gratitude is to no longer live to ourselves. It is to no longer continue grieving our saviour sinning agains Him. But from that moment onwards, we purpose to totally devote and consecrate 100% of our lives to Him, who in his great love, died for us and rose again for our salvation!

To Live unto God means that we no longer seek to rule our own lives. We no longer make our own plans for a brilliant future in this world. But we realise that we are not our own, but our loving saviour has paid the penalty for our disobedience, He has bought us with an infinite price, therefore in all that we do, say and think we seek to glorify Him. (1. Corinthians 10:31)

The language of our heart will be "Lord, I am yours. In your great love you have purchased my sins. Please take them away from me now, purify my heart. Strengthen me according to your might power, to gain the victory over Satan in all areas of my life. Use me today and every day in unselfish service to others, bringing glory and honour to your name. Use me as your ambassador to lead some other poor soul to you."

May God help each of us to have this experience, and let's keep a song of praise and gratitude always on our lips or in our hearts because of the wondrous love of our saviour!

"The love of Christ constraineth us," ... This was the motive that impelled the zealous disciple in his arduous labors in the cause of the gospel. It was the impulse that moved the great apostle Paul. And no less is the need today that the followers of Christ feel the same constraining power and respond to its influence with the same zeal and devotion. - Ellen White, The Review and Herald, October 30, 1913