How Deep the Father’s Love for Us
(Stuart Townend)
Sacrifice is the Truest Love
LYRICS (Click to minimize)
How deep the Father’s love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory
Behold the man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
Source: LyricFind
Songwriter: Stuart Townend
© 1995 Thankyou Music
CCLI Song #1558110 | CCLI License #632898
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
John 3:16-17 (ESV)
Have you ever thought about the kind of God we serve? I am sure we have thought about certain aspects of God. We know He is all-powerful. We know He is good. We know He saved us. All these are certainly true and eternally praiseworthy attributes of God! But is this all He is?
God is love, the Bible declares. We have heard this and confessed this many times. But do we really believe it? One of the most jarring mental exercises I have learned to do is to imagine a God who is not like the God we serve. Truly, sometimes we wonder how God is love if He allows suffering and pain. But what if our God were not love? Can you imagine a truly vengeful God? A God who is hate? What if God were as petty as those false gods of ancient Greek cultures, but with infinitely more power? We know He is all-powerful, but what if He used that power to cause eternal pain on his people with no hope of salvation?
What if He were not hateful, but apathetic? Oh, that thought seems simultaneously so much better and so much worse than a hateful God. He would be a God who ignores every cry of the human race, a God who turns his face away to all our emotions, a God who is far, far away.
Thank the Lord and praise Him forever, because we know He is neither hateful nor apathetic! To remove all doubts of His eternal love, God proved it with the ultimate sacrifice. God the Father gave up His only beloved Son. God the Son gave up His life. He knew that both justice and love needed to be sealed and signed with blood, and He bore that cost.
Truly, we may sometimes doubt God’s love. We may sometimes wonder if God is distant. We may even wonder if God hates us. But even when the situation around us seems bleak, fear not. God is Love, and He has proven this with sacrifice.
After all, sacrifice is the truest expression of love.