Easter 2025 – The Father Loves You
Good morning! This is it, the big day, Easter, Resurrection Sunday. It’s the most important day on the Christian calendar.
Let’s pray.
All over the globe people are gathering, filling church buildings to hear again the old, old story, that Jesus is alive.
The powers of darkness tried to kill Him, tried to stop Him, but in the end, death could not hold Him. The crucifixion of Jesus was not His defeat but rather His triumph.
The tragedy of His death meant triumph over sin, and hell, and the grave. Not just triumph for Him, but triumph for us, for all who believe in Him, all who would repent of their sin and turn to Him in faith.
We often focus on who benefits from the resurrection of Jesus. It’s only natural to think that because Jesus died to save sinners that sinners are the sole beneficiaries of His death and resurrection. And though, logically, we are the main beneficiaries of the sacrifice of Christ, we are not the only ones.
Don’t forget the Father.
John 3:16-17 says,
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Who is the focus on in these verses? Who are the main beneficiaries of the blessings here? Isn’t it us?
It’s only natural to focus on us, the world, the ones that God so loves. It’s easy to think that because we are so loved that God would give His only Son, that He would send His only Son that the world might be saved that this is a one-sided deal.
To think that we are so loved by God the Father that He would give His only Son that simply by believing in Him we inherit eternal life, that we get saved from the penalty of sin, that we are the only ones that benefit from this arrangement is just not the whole story.
Yes, it’s true that God the Father loves us so much that he would die for us, in our place, on the cross but are we really the only ones who benefit? I don’t think we are.
I don’t think I understood this idea, or was even aware that it existed until I had adult, semi-adult, and adultish-like kids.
God is the ultimate Father. He was the first Father, He is the best Father, He sets the standard for how fathering is done, not that dog from Bluey.
Like any good father, God wants what is best for His kids, and what is best for His kids is Him. Joel preached about this a couple of months ago, His glory is our good, what is best for us is Him.
3 John 4 says that, “I have no greater joy that to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”
As a father myself, I share that sentiment, I rejoice that my children are walking in the truth with Jesus.
My kids could be the most successful in all of their endeavors, Daniel could animate the next great superhero movie, Andrew could be in the baseball hall of fame, Sam could put a man on Mars, Eva could do all the hair and nails on the Hollywood walk of fame, but that would be nothing compared to knowing that their trust is in the Lord, that they are walking with Him, and have a seat at the table in His eternal kingdom.
That’s exactly what God the Father wants for all of us.
He did what was necessary on the cross for us to be forgiven of our sin and be restored to life, So that we could be with Him forever, because He wants to be with us forever, because He loves us!
Every drop of Jesus’ blood proved how much He loves us. Jesus proved that He loves us enough to die for us. But His death wouldn’t separate us like any other person’s death would.
Instead, His death on the cross made a way for us to be connected, to be together, permanently, forever.
I love it when my family is together, I love it when we are gathered, but that is just a shadow, just a taste of how God the Father feels about the gathering of His family, of all those whom He loves, and have faith in Jesus.
Jesus died for us because God the Father loves us.
He loves us, not because we deserve it, not because we are entitled to it, not even because we especially loveable all the time.
God loves us because He is God, He is love, He defines love!
And when anybody turns to Jesus in faith, their sin is washed away and forgotten, all that separated us from the Father is gone and we get to be with Him forever, and that’s exactly what He wants, like any good father, he wants to be with his children and for His children to want to be with Him.
Jesus was once asked what the greatest commandment was.
He said, in Matthew 22:37, 37“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
All of the Law and the Prophets, the whole Bible depends on these two commands, to love the Lord and to love other people.
Because God the Father is love, His children are to love.
He loved us enough to die for us, and when we turn to Him in faith he comes and lives in us, each of us, forever.
1 John 4:13-21 says,
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
We love because He loved us first, He invented the whole idea.
His love for all of mankind was so great that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever trusted in Him would not perish but would have everlasting life with Him as a part of His family forever.
That is what we celebrate today above all other days.
And if you have never accepted this love but want to today, you can simply ask the Father to forgive you, confess that Jesus is the Son of God, that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God the Father raised Him from the dead you will be saved, He will live in you and you will live in Him, and you will be adopted into His family forever.
That’s exactly what He wants from you, He wants to be with you and for you to want to be with Him.
Trusting in Jesus is the only way to make that happen.
Amen.
If you have any questions about that or would like someone to pray with you just come and see me after the service or call me anytime.
Let’s pray.
