Sabbath Reflection – Passover Love

We are just a little over 7 weeks away from observing the Passover – the start of another year of rehearsing and celebrating God’s Holy Days. We often discuss the direct meanings of these days (as we should), but there is another aspect concerning what God has instituted that we should remember as well. In John 3:16 (NJKV) we are told, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  God’s Holy Days are only part of the picture of what He has put in motion because of His love for us.

Do we remember the love that God has for us as we keep His Holy Days?  This love flows out of who God is at His core because He is love (1 John 4:8, 16). While He gives us the Sabbath and His Holy Days to help us catch a glimpse of His plan of salvation, it is all premised on love. In following God’s way of life (1 John 5:2-3) we begin to reflect that love not only back to Him but also to each other (1 John 4:11).

As we prepare for the upcoming Passover, we should also consider the implications of God’s love in the sacrifice of His Son.  Passover is not just about Christ dying for our sins, but what that payment of sin puts in motion.  Every action can have either a positive or negative consequence, and with Christ’s sacrifice we have the positive consequence of His life given for us, as well as our responsibility to give our life for others (1 John 3:16). In this way, God’s love never ends, never runs out and always flows to others.

Perhaps God, in His love, began this process of showing us His love by having us begin the rehearsal of His plan of salvation in the spring. While it is not a young man’s romantic love, it is a love with eternal consequences for all of mankind.  That is a love that we should all strive to live up to.

I wish you a profitable and value filled Sabbath,

Joe Greene 

Pastor for Richmond and Roanoke, Va

(434) 808-2146