God's love for you in Christ Jesus is so compelling that He converts curses into blessings just for you. God's conversion of curses into blessings is not the consequence of you deserving His love, but because of His deep deep love (Ro. 3:10). God founds the relationship with you and maintains its continuance. Christ's love for His elect is a yoke; yet, His yoke most closely resembles the yoke of an harmonious marriage assuring much delight. The love of Christ is a burden like the burden of wings to an eagle allowing it the freedom of exploring the skies of this world. Christ's love liberates and frees thereby always benefiting His beloved and releasing them from the curses of the world, their own flesh and the devil so they can pursue God's eternity (II Cor. 3:17f.). The love Christ has for you protects you from doing what you otherwise would do and compelling you to do what you otherwise would not do. Christians gripped by His love discover that they have but one passion, one concern, one motivation, for their hearts are without rivals (Lk. 10:42). Your love for your Lord is the supernatural overflow from His "rivers of living water" (Jn. 7:38). When the love of Christ controls you, difficulties are welcomed with joy, the impossible is made possible, the high places brought low and the rough places made smooth (Isa. 40:3f.; Lk. 3:4-6). The love Christ has for you begins the transformation process of shutting off your former loves and allowing you to view curses as sanctifying blessings. His love confines you to His loving purposes for you and in His love you discover your satisfaction. The Spirit of Christ within you restrains your caress of forbidden fruit so that you are protected from following in the path of Eve, Achan or even David (II Sam. 12:4). What do you witness when you study God's love? You see the Cross. No other event allows you to capture the same length, height, depth and width of His love. At the Cross you discover no loveableness in man, yet God's brand of love comes from the depth of Himself who loves because He is love. In God's love through Christ, you perceive that true love shrinks from no "tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" (Ro. 8:35). When you examine God's love for you, you will discover: * The Holy Spirit dwelling within you bearing witness with your spirit that you are God's alone - no longer a stranger or alien to grace, but one with the Kinsman Redeemer * The angels are your ministering spirits bearing you up so that you might not dash your foot against the stone * The trials/afflictions/persecutions coming your way are sculpting you into Christlikeness * Jesus is not ashamed to call you His brethren, to proclaim your name to all eternity You are commanded to perceive what is true reality. Pry into the inner chambers of perpetual love and you discover God gifting you with His whole self even in the midst of difficulties. Behold your adoption! Can you imagine that one of the depraved race of Adam should become a child of glory? When you reach the New Jerusalem will you not speak throughout eternity of your regeneration and of the miracles of grace? God's love is more powerful than death and sin, yet gentler than the autumnal dew in its descent upon you. He gives you Christ Jesus and then the continuation of Christ is the Holy Spirit within you. You are a partaker of the divine nature who is resembling more closely the divine nature you have come to love. "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not" (I Jn. 3:1, KJV). GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO!