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Many years ago, I
participated in a
community Christmas
cantata hosted by the
Methodist Church. Being
only one
of the alto singers, I
made no mark or impression
in the cantata;
but this song made an
indelible mark on me! I
don’t remember
any of the other songs or
recitations, but I never
forgot this one...because
I really can’t understand
that
He would have such
transcending love for me!
"I Cannot Understand"
(Verse1)
I cannot understand God’s
love
It’s far too great for me
He sent His Son, the Holy
One
To set the sinner free
The gulf between lost men
and God
The Savior’s love has
spanned
But why my soul has been
made whole
I cannot understand
(chorus)
I cannot understand
The thing that God has
planned
That Christ should live as
man up the earth
But this I surely know
As grace and mercy show
That God came down to man
in Jesus’ birth
(Verse 2)
I cannot understand God’s
love
It covers all my sin
Forevermore Christ is the
door
And sinners may come in
I feel the cleansing,
healing touch
Of Jesus’ blessed hand
But why should He do this
for me
I cannot understand
(from "Love Transcending"
a cantata by John
Peterson)
Though this was used in a
Christmas cantata, it
seems even
more appropriate for the
lovers’ holiday,
Valentine’s Day.
In fact, it would be
appropriate for any
holiday and applied
to every single day of the
year.
What is transcending love?
Let’s look at 'love'
first.
It has been ill-defined by
the world’s standard. It
has
been equated with lust and
sensual desire. Webster’s
New
World Dictionary gives the
following definition,
among others.
Love: deep feeling of
affection, attachment or
devotion;
deep attachment.
The same source defines
transcending--
Transcending: going beyond
the limits of possible
expression;
exceeds
belief; surpasses;
excels.
Put together, we get 'deep
affection that surpasses
possible
expression.'
Doesn’t that describe
God’s love? At least
as well as humans can
understand and express it.
It is not
only beyond the limits of
possible expression, it is
beyond
our comprehension. From
the natural-mind
perception, it is
unrealistic to even
imagine that a Holy God
loves a sin-cursed,
godless world...one that
crucified Him! We are so
far
removed from His
perfection that
'transcendent love' is the
only way it can be imagined.
If God were taking part in
Valentine’s Day, He would
ask,
"Would you be my
Valentine?" We would feel
as the peasant
girl who responds to the
prince, if she should
receive such
an invitation,
"Impossible! I would never
fit into your world."
But the prince will not
take no for an answer. He
assures the
humble girl that he will
give her the refinement
she needs to
share his life. He will
provide the clothes and
grooming to
make her acceptable to
stand by his side in his
kingdom. She
is incredulous as he
carries her away on his
white charger into
the happy-ever-after.
Jesus extends to us the
same offer. We could never
refine
ourselves well enough to
be accepted into His
kingdom.
We don’t have the means to
clothe ourselves with the
righteousness necessary to
stand by His side in His
kingdom
and serve with Him. We would always come up short
of His requirements; we
would only bring Him shame
and
disgrace. Don’t you think
He knows that? Of course,
He does!
Nor does He even expect us
to bring anything into the
relationship to our
credit. He will be totally
responsible to
provide all we need to fit
into His kingdom. He just
wants us,
as we are, stained with the sins of this world. Like
Cinderella before the
ball, sitting in the ashes
of our hopelessness.
Jesus has called us His
bride. John the Baptist
declared,
"I am not the Christ."
He said he was only the
friend of the groom,
Jesus, and
the groom would increase
as he decreased (John
4:28-30).
In so saying, he
identified Christ as the
groom.
We see His bride in
Revelation 19:7-8. She has
made
herself ready and stands
clothed in white linen
which is the
'righteous act of the saints.' We already know that our
righteousness is
as a filthy rag, but He
has given us His robe
of righteousness to make
us ready to be His bride.
He brings to us His
'transcending love' in
redemption, giving us
His unconditional love
expressed in its fullness
at Calvary and
the empty tomb. He comes
to us as a friend that
'sticks closer
than a brother,' and was
even rebuked by his
enemies for being
a friend to sinners (Luke
7:34). How can that be!
The Supreme Sovereign,
King of kings, Lord of
lords offers love that is
faithful,
unfailing and eternal to
unworthy, debt-laden
peons unable
to pull ourselves up from
our lowly state, doomed to
sit in t
he ashes of our failures.
How can we refuse such an
offer?
The only answer we can
give is, "I do!"
That’s nothing less than
'Transcending Love!'
Will you be His
Valentine...forever?
Delores Adams
Copyrighted. All rights
reserved.
January 28, 2004
Alice's Legacy
Remembering Alice
The
"Handkerchief" has been
anointed and prayed over
by
several believers who care
about you and want to help
you
realize your full
potential in Christ Jesus
Our Lord.
~The
Ten Commandments~
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