Alex Early uses the familiar song, "Jesus Loves Me," to share with his readers what he's learned about the reckless love of God. From cover to cover, the book is simply about GOD'S LOVE for the world, for believers especially. His message is intricately connected, of course, to God's other attributes, notably God's grace (and/or mercy), God's wrath, and God's justice. God's love cannot be separated from his justice and goodness. A just and good God has to become angry when he's sinned against. Sin deserves wrath and anger and punishment--even ETERNAL punishment. But God's love for us is so great, so strong, so deep, that that is not the end of the story. God sent his Son, his ONLY Son, his much beloved Son, Jesus, to save us from ourselves, to save us from our sins, to restore, redeem, and reconcile us with God the Father. Sin was punished, and God's wrath was satisfied. End of story. Jesus paid it all. And it cost God something. Grace is not cheap. Not at all. Through Jesus, God showed us what love was all about. And that is something we see illustrated again and again in the Bible: God IS love, and we are LOVED. Loved without a doubt, without question. God's love for us does not give us permission to live however we want, to live recklessly without him all the while proclaiming that we are Christians, but it is faithful and true, not demanding us to EARN our way into God's good graces. We can not pay God back what we "owe" him. We cannot add anything--no matter how small--to our salvation.
The Reckless Love may sound like an "old, old story" one that for many may be taken as matter-of-fact. But the message can be life-changing, especially for those that have not learned the lesson deeply themselves just yet. The message may not be a "new" one particularly. But it is a message that is always needed. There are indeed readers who NEED to know--desperately need to know--that God's love extends "even" to them.
© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible
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