The Full Extent of His Love

"...Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love." John 13:1 I have tried to write this blog 3 times today. But only now do I feel that this is what God would have me to write. Sunday is Easter and, for me, this is one of the most exciting days of the year! I love celebrating the birth of Christ at Christmas, but it seems that with every passing year, Easter takes on a deeper meaning to me. I was brought up to know that we celebrated Easter because it was the day Jesus arose from the grave. The Easter Bunny was just a perk! For all I knew, the Easter Bunny was so happy about Jesus overcoming death that he went around leaving candy for everybody!!! Anyway, when I think back to what might have been going on in the mind of Christ during all the preparation for His crucifixion, it overwhelms me. Was He thinking about how much death would hurt? Was He thinking about how it would hurt the ones He loved to watch him die? Was He thinking about being mocked or spat upon? The one thing that makes me well up with tears is that sometime that day as He hung there on that cross, I went through His mind. Jesus was so in love with Corrie Taylor Clay that He completed the task. That type of love is a love I can barely even begin to comprehend. My sister-in-law (Katie) and I were talking this past weekend about the fact that perhaps one of the most difficult things for us as Christians is for us to understand and accept how much God loves US. That is hard for me. Becoming a Christan secures our eternity and opens the door to a relationship with God. But knowing Him is a whole new world. The passage in John tells us that Jesus realizes that His time of death is getting closer. And then I read something I had never noticed before....He would show them the 'extent of His love'. He then washed their feet. He symbolically showed them this act of humbleness and service because He would soon give the ultimate sacrifice by laying down His life for them, you, and me. There are so many verses in the Bible that define and describe God's love. I have just begun to understand that He loves me. The part I don't understand is why my faith wavers at times in a man who proved that He loves me more than anyone can or ever could. How He must feel the spikes in His hands all over again when I doubt Him. All I know is that I have begun a quest to know this love and to share it with everyone. Ephesians 3: 18 tells us how powerful it is to know how deep, how wide, how long, and how high is the love of Christ. I wonder if you know how much He loves you? How can you know? You can know by beginning a relationship with Him. Let Him begin to show you the extent of His love... Love, Corrie My prayer for today: Lord, how thankful I am for the day you gave your life for me. You died a horrible and painful death for me. You have asked me for so very little yet you gave the ultimate sacrifice for those who hurt you. I want to know you and the full extent of this phenomenal love.