English Standard Version
Do you know those beverage coolers at public events, the cylinders with the lid that hinges open? Imagine reaching into one of those packed with ice, and you're trying to find just the right can, and as you fish around in the cooler, your fingers start to tingle with the cold, and as you continue to fish around in there, eventually your hand gets colder, and then it moves up the arm, and the longer you leave your hand in there, trying to grasp what you're searching for, the more the sensation travels farther up your arm?
That's what I think of when I read this passage. (I know, it's probably a terrible metaphor, but it's my metaphor, so work with me!) The enormity of the truth of who Jesus is lays deep inside passages like these, and the more I think about them, the more I read them, the more I reflect upon them, the more of me is absolutely in awe of the love God has for us. It starts as a small sensation when you read about the shepherd laying down his life for the sheep, and the more time that I spend with it, the more it grows and captures my heart as I realize that Jesus didn't have to die -- he could have remained in heaven for all of eternity, but instead he chose to come to earth, he chose to live in poverty, he chose to take our sins upon us and suffer and die for us, all because he loves us like a shepherd loves the sheep. Jesus alone had the authority to lay down his life, and he utilized that so that the sheep would be saved.
And as a sheep, I still rebel against God... knowing this, I don't constantly turn to God in worship. It's hard to believe, but it's because when I turn from this truth, I get so distracted by the cares of the world that the other shiny things seem more important. It's crazy...
But for a moment, the more I stare at this, the more I think on this, it's simply an amazing sensation that overwhelms the soul... what love transforms us!
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