45. He Doesn't Just Tolerate Us

Hebrews 12:2

There are some things in my life that I just put up with, like my ancient minivan, and then there are things in my life that I love, like my Apple iPad. It’s easy to think God is that way with us; that He has His favorites and I’m probably not one of them. I mean, I can mentally process the fact that His rescue mission worked to save my soul; but that knowledge doesn’t always pacify this feeling I have that, just because He saved me doesn’t mean He likes me all that much. Have you ever felt that? It’s like a gnawing sensation in the back of your heart somewhere that says, “Yeah, He saved you, but it was because He promised He would and that’s His job.” There’s a verse in Hebrews 12 that says “For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning the shame.” I remember reading that as a kid and feeling like a burden to Him. Recently, however, I discovered something that changes that whole deal. See, the word translated ‘scorning the shame’ in that verse really means to ‘look down on’ or to ‘write off’ as nothing. In other words, the writer of Hebrews was really saying that compared to the joy set before Him, all the pain, humiliation, bewilderment and terror of the cross was like nothing to Jesus. He gladly endured it and wrote it off, looked down on it all because of you and me. We were the joy set before Him. I love Jesus because He doesn’t just tolerate us, He likes us. He didn’t save us because He had to. He died for us out of His outrageous love for you and me.