Born-again people immediately discover how irresistibly lovable Jesus is. In the early chapters of Augustine’s compelling Confessions, in which he chronicles his search for God and meaning, he repeatedly mentions Christ’s delightful “sweetness.” While I rarely use that term in reference to my Lord, it certainly isn’t inappropriate. No one’s heart is as sweet and tender as our Savior’s.
In reading the Bible and books by great theologians, I sometimes get so caught up in admiring Jesus’ power, sovereignty, omniscience, etc. that I often need to be reminded of His alluring graciousness. When I contemplate Christ’s hours of agony on the cross in order to redeem my wicked soul I can’t help but love Him even more.
Sweetness is something we all savor. Indeed, the Bible invites us to “Taste and see that the LORD is good!” (Psalm 34:8). Ian Hamilton wrote, “The gospel doesn’t come only to transform our minds and reform our lives; it comes to implant within us godly affections.” By centering our love on God – love’s pure source – we’re better able to “love each other deeply.” Our ongoing sanctification is grounded in love, “because love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).
The Scriptures state: “God is love, and the one who resides in love resides in God, and God resides in Him” and “We love because He loved us first” (1 John 4:16,19). The latter verse is genuinely astounding. The sinful nature I was born with contained no affection for God whatsoever. Yet, He loved me eons before I even gave Him a passing thought.
Believers must comprehend that our Heavenly Father doesn’t love His elect because His Son died for us. On the contrary, His Son died for us because our Father first loved us with an overwhelming, compassionate love far beyond our understanding.
Shortly after I rededicated my life to following and learning more about Jesus, an acquaintance sent me a copy of Brennan Manning’s wonderful The Ragamuffin Gospel and it impacted my faith greatly, as it has others’. Michael W. Smith confessed, “The first time I sat down with the book, I devoured it. I discovered how little I had to do to deserve and receive the love of God and that He loved me more than I’d ever imagined. Suddenly, instead of fearing and denying all of my real or imagined shortcomings, I could embrace my humanness. I could see God pursuing me through it and in spite of it.”
Don’t get the wrong impression. Brennan didn’t advocate that Christians “should sin because we’re not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:15). No way. God’s adoption causes us to hate sin with a fervent passion because we realize it’s a disgraceful affront to the One who saved us from the devil’s grip. Manning, a former priest who struggled with alcoholism for decades, helped me to more fully wrap my tiny brain around the gospel’s fundamental message that I’ve been rescued solely by God’s grace and that Jesus is the only hope for sinners like him, me, and you.
“Jesus saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. ‘Follow me,’ He said to him. And he got up and followed Him. As Jesus was having a meal in Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this they said to His disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard this He said, ‘Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do. Go and learn what this saying means: “I want mercy and not sacrifice.” For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners’” (Matthew 9:9-13).
Brennan commented, “Jesus, who forgave the sins of the paralytic (thereby claiming divine power), proclaims He’s invited sinners and not the self-righteous to His table. The Greek verb used here, kalein, has the sense of inviting an honored guest to dinner. In effect, Jesus says the kingdom of God isn’t a place for the self-righteous, nor for those who feel they possess the state secret of salvation. No, it’s for a larger, homelier, less self-conscious caste of people who understand they’re sinners because they’ve experienced the yaw and pitch of moral struggle.”
Manning (along with the Bible) assures me my Savior is kinder, more sympathetic, and welcoming to me, a habitual indulger of iniquity than I will ever deserve. Is Christ a king? Yes. Does He rule over the universe He created? Yes. Is He the ultimate Judge of everyone? Yes. But He’s no cruel tyrant. Rather, He’s my most loyal friend, my indefatigable advocate, and my protecting shepherd who’s more than earned my devotion, dedication, and unconditional love.
A while ago one of my minister brothers in Christ gave me a book by Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly – The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers. Like Manning, Ortlund emphasizes our Lord’s tenderness. As he expressed in his introduction, “It’s one thing to know the doctrines of the incarnation and the atonement and a hundred other vital doctrines. It’s another, more searching matter to know [Jesus’] heart for you.”
I have yet to recommend either book to someone who reported back that its beautiful observations didn’t comfort them. They’re that good. When Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I’ll give you rest. Take my yoke on you and learn from Me, because I’m gentle and humble in heart, and you’ll find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29), He meant it.
Ortlund wrote, “You don’t need to unburden or collect yourself and then come to Jesus. Your very burden is what qualifies you to come.” Christ announced, “Everyone whom the Father gives Me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I’ll never send away” (John 6:37). He’s our love-filled, relentlessly tender-hearted Lamb of God whom we can trust in and depend on without reservation. Have you ever heard greater, more glorious news than that?
Even Christians Get the Blues 