Tuesday, February 8, 2011

The Overwhelming Love of the Son of God


Referring to the previous post, I would like to talk about the greastest act of love that God has shown to all of us. "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

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth and successfully completed the Atonement. Many understand this to mean that He suffered the penalties of our sins so that we could be forgiven for them, and that He rose from the tomb so that we could overcome death. That is the miracle of the Atonement, that because of this perfect sacrifice, we can overcome the things that keep us from the presence of God. However, the Atonment does so much more for us.

The prophet Abinadi, quoting Isaiah to the wicked King Noah, said: "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

One part of that statement that has always struck me more than the rest is where it says that the Savior has "borne our griefs" and "carried our sorrows." One thing I have come to understand is that somehow during the Atonement process, Jesus Christ felt and suffered every negative thing any of us have ever gone through. Every pain or sorrow we have all suffered, however large or small, the Savior felt as he laid on the ground in the Garden of Gethsemane. Why? So that He could know and understand us perfectly, so He could shepherd us through any patch of life.

"For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee." Isaiah 41:13

"But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee..." Deuteronomy 4:29-31

"And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed." Deuteronomy 31:8

Jesus Christ has felt everything any of us have gone through. He suffered our pains, griefs and sorrows so that when we are troubled we can turn to Him. He will always stand by us. He will always help us. He will always show His love for us. Let our Lord take you by the right hand and guide you through this life.

1 comment:

  1. Having gone through trials and sorrows in my life, I can witness that only through the Atoning Love of the Savior was I lifted. This because of the great sacrifice made in Gethsemane and on the Cross.

    This blog posting is so extremely well written that it touched me unexpectedly.

    ReplyDelete