Without A Cause

My heart is burning with excitement, joy, and peace, the kind that words cannot convey. I am completely satisfied in God’s love for us.

A part of my joy is prompted by John 15.25:

It was to fulfill the word that is written in their law, 'They hated me without a cause.' (Joh 15:25 NRSV)

The context of this verse is interesting and it culminates in the people hating Jesus “without a cause”. I get no joy from people hating Jesus, but the word translated “without a cause”, churns my joy meter!

Here is why, the Greek word translated “without a cause” in John is the same word Paul uses in Romans 3:24:

Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. (Rom 3:24 NLT)

My joy knows no bounds as I try to exhaust the meaning of this verse. When I substitute the translation from John 15:25 into Romans 3:24 it reads:

“God, ‘without a cause’, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins.”

Grab that? The God of the universe, the biggest and best person in existence, The God, that one, he declares us OK with him, acceptable, his children, all WITHOUT A CAUSE! He did that just because he wanted to! There are not enough words or pages to exhaust the personal satisfaction from knowing that God loves us, without a cause, and that Jesus died on a cross to prove it.

Ephesians pegs my happy meter when it says:

God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. (Eph 1:5 NLT)

For me that idea puts some new weight on everyone’s favorite Bible verse:

"For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. (Joh 3:16 NLT)

Intellectual cognizance, emotional conscience, joy jitters, they all max out as I try to comprehend that God did all of this, ‘without a cause’, just because he wanted to!

I’m glad that most people get this concept, and they have enjoyed this experience before me. But, if for some reason this idea doesn’t blip your TV screen then you might want to go see a doctor, because I fear your wood is wet!