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Those of us who are parents know the

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joy of watching our children grow.

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Often we have their photos held up by

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magnets on our refrigerator door.

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So every time we grab a snack, we

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see the photo of our little darlings smiling

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at us.

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Or we keep photos of our children in

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our purses or wallets.

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I keep a photo of my daughter in

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my wallet even though she's a grown woman

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now.

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The photo I keep of her is when

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she was eight years old on the back

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of a horse.

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She just loves to ride horses.

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But every time we look at those photos,

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our hearts melt within us with our love

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for our children.

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We would do anything for them.

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When we read our Bibles, we see a

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picture of a love story between God and

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his people.

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How he woos them and wins them and

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cares for them and fights for them and

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keeps them.

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He has a fatherly parental love for them.

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Even Jesus displays this parental devotion in the

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narrative of Matthew's Gospel where Christ weeps over

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Jerusalem in its coming destruction.

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And he laments, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that

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killest the prophets and stonest them which are

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sent unto thee, how often would I have

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gathered that children together even as a hen

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gathers her chickens under her wings and ye

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would not.

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When we think about the love of God

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toward us, it's often hard to fathom the

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depths of that love.

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Our human love only reaches so far and

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often it is inconsistent or conditional toward the

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one we love.

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But the love of God is truly amazing

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that it humbles and inspires.

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At the same time, we see the apostle

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Paul marveling at this great sacrificial love of

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Christ.

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In Galatians 2 20 we read, I am

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crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not

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I, but Christ liveth in me, and the

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life which I now live in the flesh

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I live by the faith of the Son

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of God who loved me and gave himself

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for me.

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It's a personal love.

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We even get a clearer picture of the

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love of Christ in the story of the

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young man who truly wants to follow the

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Lord.

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But upon closer examination, he has a self

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-discovery of his heart and he determines to

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follow his wealth instead of following the master.

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In the text from Mark 10 21 reads,

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Then Jesus beholding him loved him.

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It broke Christ's heart to watch that young

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man turn his back on him and walk

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away.

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The love of God cannot be measured on

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human terms.

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It's a galaxy in itself.

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And this brings us to our text today

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friends.

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We are in Isaiah chapter 49 and in

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verses 15 through 16.

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When I read this passage, it absolutely melts

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me with the love of God.

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I cried just like a little baby.

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Listen to this striking passage of scripture about

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God's fantastic love.

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Can a woman forget her suckling child?

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That she would not have compassion on the

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son of her womb?

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Yea, they may forget, yet will I not

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forget thee?

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Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms

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of my hands.

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Thy walls are continually before me.

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In Jewish tradition, there is a story representing

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Israel as God's daughter who asked him to

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stamp a seal of her on his heart

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and arm from a reference to Song of

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Solomon.

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God replies that such a seal cannot always

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be seen.

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So he has instead ascribed her upon his

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palms.

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And inscribed means a picture, a picture of

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you like the one I carry in my

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wallet of my daughter.

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But the love of God soars to such

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astounding heights.

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We have here a picture of the son

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of God with the nail prints of Calvary

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in his palms.

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And on top of that picture, on top

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of that palm is your picture friend.

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He loved you so much.

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He laid down his very life for you

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so you could live.

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And he loves you so much.

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He carries your photo on top of that

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nail print to remind him continually of his

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wonderful love for you.

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Who can resist that kind of love?

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I don't know, but some do.

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Herein is love.

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Not that we have loved God, but that

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he loved us and sent his son to

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be the propitiation for our sins.