The Heart of Christ
Frederick Martin Lehman wrote a hymn on the vast love of God. In his third stanza, he penned:
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
No eye has seen, no ear has heard the depth of Christ's love for us. Like Moses, we get a brief glimpse that is far beyond our understanding. I'm learning the reality of this more and more each day as I read a book that focuses on the love of Christ entitled, Gentle and Lowly. In this book, he expounds on the following verse to give a a taste of Christ's love for the sinner. O, may we seek to love the lost, the wayward, and our brothers and sisters in these ways. See the heart of Christ in these verses.
I am gentle and lowly in heart. Matthew 11:29
And he had compassion on them. Matthew 14:14
...who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame. Hebrew 12:2
We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. Hebrews 4:15
He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward. Hebrews 5:2
Whoever comes to me I will never cast out. John 6:37
My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath. Hosea 11:7–9
He always lives to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:25
We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John 2:1
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. John 11:33
. . . a friend of tax collectors and sinners! Matthew 11:19
He does not afflict from his heart. Lamentations 3:33
“A God merciful and gracious, slow to anger . . .” Exodus 34:6
My heart yearns for him. Jeremiah 31:20
But God, being rich in mercy . . . Ephesians 2:4
“the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. Romans 5
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. John 13:1
. . . so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us. Ephesians 2:7
