This sermon focused on the surprising intimate and personal love that Jesus showed for the deaf man in light of the universally big and important mission that Jesus was on. Jesus’ interaction with this man served so many God sized purposes that it is tempting for our hearts to think of him as merely an object lesson.
In our own lives, we can also feel as though Jesus’ love is distant and utilitarian when we see the centrality of God in his own affections. We are tempted to think that because Jesus’ highest goal in loving us is glorifying God than his love for us is somehow less.
In contrast to that error, Jesus’ encounter with this deaf man is so personal and intimate that we come face-to-face with the tender personal love of God for each one of us.
- Does your own idea of God’s love for us as individuals lean more towards the error of man being highest in God’s affection in all that he does or that God’s love for us is somehow deficient or less personal and intimate?
- When do you struggle to know God’s love for you as real, personal, or intimate?
- When do you struggle to know that God is highest in his own affection?