The Shoreline and The Savior

The beach is where many Americans go when they need to relax. It’s a place that offers the ability to unwind and avoid the responsibilities that a working life begs of you. And perhaps most importantly, it’s beautiful. The meeting of the sky with ocean water creates an incredible view that amazes people, so much so that we visit it again and again and again.

But beautiful ocean views also show us something that appears endless. Even though we know that the other side of an ocean has land, and if you go deep enough there’s a floor, it doesn’t look that way. It looks endless. The same goes for the love of God.

God’s love is endless. We often doubt if it’s real, for with all our brokenness it doesn’t make much sense to have a God that loves us as deeply as he does. A God that was so burning with love for his creation that he sent his own son, Jesus, to die on our behalf. And that Jesus, who was fully man and fully God, is still so significant that our entire calendar is based on his birth. It still has millions of people from all walks of life worshipping him and sharing of his love. As the book of 1 John 3:1 proclaims, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”

The ocean seems endless, and it’s incredible, but it eventually stops. God’s love seems endless, but it’s actually everlasting. It endures through generations and has shown itself to the likes of old men like Moses and ordinary people like you and I. It’s a love so grand that it changes our lives - the way we live, act, and talk. God’s love is not something we deserve, but it’s the greatest gift of all, and it’s up to us to receive it.