Dial Daily Bread: God Did the Unthinkable

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

When God the Father, our Creator, found Himself confronted with a world [this fallen planet] that had rebelled against Him, He did the unthinkable: He frankly forgave us all!

This astonished the unfallen universe.

He sent His only Son, GAVE Him, to die our second death.

The death of Jesus was infinitely more than a weekend of sleep (which any crucified person would appreciate; crucifixion did not kill people, it merely tortured them); the kind of death that Jesus died was what He described when He screamed on His cross, "My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" The death that Jesus died is God-forsakenness. That's what hell is.

He knew He was dying our second death; He knew He was entering hell for us--the hell that has no ending, no light at the end of its dark tunnel.

Someone may object, "but He was resurrected the third day!" This understanding that many have diminishes the sacrifice of Christ and deprives us of the ability to appreciate its grand dimensions.

Crucifixion is a terribly painful experience but it is not lethal. Victims could live on for days, even weeks. It's just torture. But Jesus knew that the death He was dying is the unending hell--the "curse" of God.

Moses had said it truly, "He that is hanged [on a tree] is accursed of God" (Deut. 21:23). Everybody believed Moses, including Jesus, which is why He screamed in His agony, "My God why have You forsaken Me?" The cross was the proof of God's forsakenness of Him.

Hell is the infinite curse of God, the Father; there are no measurable dimensions to the extent of its horror; yet Jesus chose to enter into that; and the Father chose to GIVE Him to it! (Maybe more tomorrow.)

When we sinners even begin to see its "breadth, and length, and depth, and height" (Eph. 3:18), there is no end to the devotion that this divine love motivates us to give to Him forever!

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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