Having complete the first half of this study as we looked at passages in JOHN’s Gospel (JOHN 14; 15) and other Scriptures, examining the source of our love, joy and peace, we now proceed in looking at another aspect of this study by considering the gravity of the cost for our salvation through Jesus Christ and Him crucified . . .
Where was there any frivolous activity in the Garden of Gethsemane when our precious LORD shed His blood, sweat and tears, crying out to the Father for the terrible terror that was before Him, kneeling in fervent prayer under the shadow of that coming Cross?
Where were the fun times when the LORD had His head covered in a sack and then mercilessly beaten with rods by cruel Roman soldiers?
Where were the light-hearted escapades when the LORD was tortured by the Romans with the Cat O’ Nine Tails that was so vicious in shredding flesh from bone, that the victims often died from being disemboweled!?
Where were the good times when the LORD hung on that Cross for six long hours, bearing upon His pure and righteous and holy Soul the entirety of the human race’s sin and all that results from sin (the sorrows, the pain, the sickness and corruption) and the wrathful judgment of Almighty God upon His own Son Who was our sin-bearer?
In the Gospel of John the LORD Jesus Christ said,
JOHN 15:11
These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
And in the previous chapter, the LORD said this,
JOHN 14:27
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Again in the Gospel of John the LORD spoke of His love for us:
JOHN 15:9-10
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
With such joy, peace and love, the Christian ought to never feel the burdens of life the way that the lost do; they should never feel beneath the trials and circumstances that this fallen world is prone to; they should never live a defeated life, believing the lies that they will never be free of besetting sins and strongholds that the enemy has snared them in. . . isn’t that right? Or is it?
