Infinite Love's Boundary

"He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" Romans 8:32

We often revel in the omnipotence of God.

We often take comfort in knowing that He can do all things.

Yet, while God's power is limitless, His actions are bound by His nature.

And it’s His nature—infinitely loving and holy—that sets the boundaries of a boundless Being. A daughter asked her father a question many years ago, "Is there anything that God can not do?"

Let's answer that question once and for all, shall we?

In the fullness of time, God the Father sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law (Galatians 4:4-5). In this, we find an act so replete with love and mercy that to think of anything surpassing it becomes, well, inconceivable. The apostle John rightly says,

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

Could there be greater love than this?

It is precisely in the sending of the Son that we find the fullness of God’s love displayed: yes,

His holiness,

His justice,

His mercy,

but above all,

His indescribable love.

Think of the lengths to which the Father went to save a soul:

the eternal Word becoming flesh,

dwelling among us,

living a rootless life of hardship and persecution,

then promptly offering Himself as the final and complete sacrifice for sins.

How exactly do you measure that? What weight, height, depth, and breadth of love is on display here? What kind of love could possibly motivate the deliberate act of the Father, appointing His Son to bear the weight of the sins of so many… and of the Son, submitting Himself to the Father's will, even unto death?

Then try to put a price on the loved One sent! O, eternal Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The One by whom all things were made and in whom all things consist, willingly humbled Himself to redeem His people. The Father did not send an angel or a human emissary. He sent His own Son. Willingly. Who went, willingly. Those blessed Two: One in substance, equal in power and glory, but also in heart, and affection. The sending of Christ was not merely a gesture of love, or a demonstration of great love. It is the epitome, definition, and climax of it.

The question of the child and the wise response of the father is worth learning.

Child: "Is there anything God can not do?"

Father: "Yes. God can not show more love than the sending of His Son."

Dwell on those depths for a moment, dear soul.

Truly, meditate, but when you do,

let it be with a heart aflame with love,

for the One who gave the One He loved,

for so many loved-ones.

In doing so, we will be drawn into deeper communion with Him. It will loosen our lips to say with the Apostle Paul, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?"

Be captivated by this truth. Let this thought permeate a quiet heart. Think on it slowly and deeply; that it is inconceivable, but also true, that God can not, no, He can not; He can not love more than He has in sending His Son.

Herein is love.

Herein, our hearts find rest,

and our souls find worth.

Herein, we find reason to worship God in the beauty of holiness.

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 1:10