Such Love

​When I was about three my mom and her best friend were driving five of us kids to K-mart for some shopping. As my mom’s friend parked, I thought she was stopped. What I didn’t realize was she decided to move to a closer spot. As I opened the door she took off. I slid out of the car and was clinging onto the door as I was being drug along. My mom’s friend about had a heart attack. She quickly stopped and my mom retrieved me. She ran me into the store bathroom and worked on cleaning my skinned knees. Realizing I wasn’t badly hurt they decided to go home as they simply did not want to shop after the scare they just endured.

I remember it like yesterday. All afternoon, my mom held me and rocked me in the rocking chair crying and singing. She was thanking Jesus for me and for protecting me. I could just feel her love for me. I don’t think I could do anything to make my mom not love me. She mentioned a time or two my brother and I were slightly difficult like when we brought the skunk home or used Clorox to clean the carpet, but she always had such a love for us.
           
Hebrews 7:11-28 (MSG)  “11-14 If the priesthood of Levi and Aaron, which provided the framework for the giving of the law, could really make people perfect, there wouldn’t have been need for a new priesthood like that of Melchizedek. But since it didn’t get the job done, there was a change of priesthood, which brought with it a radical new kind of law. There is no way of understanding this in terms of the old Levitical priesthood, which is why there is nothing in Jesus’ family tree connecting him with that priestly line.

15-19 But the Melchizedek story provides a perfect analogy: Jesus, a priest like Melchizedek, not by genealogical descent but by the sheer force of resurrection life—he lives!—“priest forever in the royal order of Melchizedek.” The former way of doing things, a system of commandments that never worked out the way it was supposed to, was set aside; the law brought nothing to maturity. Another way—Jesus!—a way that does work, that brings us right into the presence of God, is put in its place.
20-22 The old priesthood of Aaron perpetuated itself automatically, father to son, without explicit confirmation by God. But then God intervened and called this new, permanent priesthood into being with an added promise:

God gave his word;
    he won’t take it back:
“You’re the permanent priest.”
This makes Jesus the guarantee of a far better way between us and God—one that really works! A new covenant.

23-25 Earlier there were a lot of priests, for they died and had to be replaced. But Jesus’ priesthood is permanent. He’s there from now to eternity to save everyone who comes to God through him, always on the job to speak up for them.

26-28 So now we have a high priest who perfectly fits our needs: completely holy, uncompromised by sin, with authority extending as high as God’s presence in heaven itself. Unlike the other high priests, he doesn’t have to offer sacrifices for his own sins every day before he can get around to us and our sins. He’s done it, once and for all: offered up himself as the sacrifice. The law appoints as high priests men who are never able to get the job done right. But this intervening command of God, which came later, appoints the Son, who is absolutely, eternally perfect.
           
We can trust these words. Jesus had such an indescribable love for us he made a sacrifice none of us can fulfill. Look at the description of love in Deuteronomy 7:9 (NIV) “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.”
           
Here is another promise of love in Psalm 86:15 (AMP) “But You, O Lord, are a God [who protects and is] merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.” More love in Psalm 136:26 (NIV) “Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.” Even more reference of love in Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV) “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.””
           
1 John 1:5-9 (NIV) says, “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
           
​His angels take care of us because of his love. He says in Psalm 91:12 (NASB) “They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone.” He holds us so close. He loves us more than we can describe with words. With the love of God we have his favor. His love won’t fail. We are special, we are forgiven. Wow, such love.