Crushed by Love (ePub)

When the first thought of such a crushing came to me, I roundly rebuked it. After all, Jesus already took it all away and afflictions shall not arise a second time! I cannot be another Jesus. By the sacrifice of Jesus, love has lifted me! How then could I ever fathom this same love crushing me? No, as far as I was concerned, God should be looking toward the other side when it comes to crushing: the enemies and adversaries of me, His beloved son, should be the ones to be crushed.

The comfort of the Holy Spirit in bringing to my mind Scriptures like, "As He [Jesus] was on earth, so are we," was discarded because that only applies when I am manifesting in His majesty and power and divine authority. Paul's desire that he might know Him and the fellowship of His suffering, to me is peculiar to Paul because he was specifically told he will suffer great things for Jesus.

But love would have His perfect course as He did with Jesus. He would not stop at the crowning with thorns, would not stop at the tearing whips on His back, would not stop at the jeering noises of those stripping His clothes and stripping Him of justice, would not stop at the carrying of the cross and crashing under its weight, would not stop until the nails have been driven into His hands and feet and the side had been speared and He has totally surrendered His spirit, "It is finished."

Love so amazing takes a deeper meaning when that divine love takes you through a crushing.