There's a verse in Romans 8 that I have seen pastors and believers quoting quite often lately. It's a verse that popped off the page at me a couple of years ago, so I wrote it in big letters and put it up on the wall.
It is such a powerful verse because it expounds to me the enormous, incredible love of my Saviour and it presents God to me in all His splendour and power beyond my wildest imagination. It says:
"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)
I get the feeling that I have not begun to even scratch the surface of the possibilities of that one verse. And, believe me, I HAVE USED IT A LOT!
For example, I was standing at the bag check-in for my flight to Vietnam when I discovered that I could not board the plane without a visa. It was mind-numbing information. The attendant told me that I could not go to Vietnam without a visa or they would put me on a plane back to Thailand and send me back to my home country.
Did I panic? Did I freeze up? (It was tempting! But, no, I pulled out the strongest weapon in my arsenal of scripture for a time like that. It was Romans 8:32 and I asked God to open the door for me to Vietnam [if it was His will])
As I walked away from the counter, half wondering what country I should fly to, I heard that still small voice say, "Check your email." So, I reluctantly did, even though I thought, "I can't get a WIFI connection at this airport and it's too late now anyway."
But, miraculously, I got online. (I honestly don't know how I did because previously my laptop wouldn't allow it to happen.) There in my inbox was my VISA FOR VIETNAM. Next, I needed to print off a copy of it, so that took another prayer request.
I felt led to an agent at the Singapore check-in who was not occupied. He told me I could email the visa to him and he'd print it off for me. So, I did. Then, back to my check-in man who informed me that they would present me with the document at the Departure Lounge.
Answered prayer.
That verse is powerful! I just feel like, when I hold that one up to the Lord, ALL THINGS ARE possible! It's like a hungry baby wailing for food. God can't resist it. And, as I have said before, I believe God loves to help us. He does.
Let's take a closer look at this verse written by the Apostle Paul in the book of Romans.
"He that spared not His own Son..." God made the Ultimate Sacrifice. Not just the death of His Son but the pain and torture of His own Son and their separation in order for Him to overcome death and hell. As humans, we can't begin to fully understand how huge that sacrifice was.
"how shall he not with Him also freely give us all things?" If God loved us THAT MUCH, everything else is just peanuts. Everything else is easy compared with the Greatest Gift of all eternity.
HE GAVE US LIFE FOREVER.
Inside of the stupendous gift, there are "incidentals" that flow freely as an off-shoot. Everything else just sort of naturally occurs once we accept the GOLDEN GIFT OF SALVATION.
Christmas is such a good illustration because, for most kids, even these days, they can allow themselves to imagine that they will receive their biggest wish come true on that special day. When I was a kid, every gift was super amazing. I mean, I hadn't earned it. I probably didn't deserve it. But, here was a GIFT that someone had bought especially for me, hoping that I would like it. So, I did. It didn't even really matter what the actual gift was because it was a GIFT. It had my name on it. That's really all I cared about.
Christmas as a child was a FRAME OF MIND. It was an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE. Even if you didn't get exactly what you wanted, you were happy. Besides, there was always next Christmas. And there was a feast of nuts, sweets, special baked goods, turkey and even, possibly, a glass of sherrry!
Christmas is a day of ALL THINGS.
But, the Lord wants to freely give us all things every day! THAT'S how much HE LOVES US!
Fall in love with HIM!
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