I poured myself a cup of coffee, cracked open my Bible and Morning and Evening by Spurgeon, and asked God to meet me where I was—to lift my spirits and reset my heart.

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know that Spurgeon and I are close friends—or at least as close as a 19th-century English preacher and a 52-year-old housewife/photographer can be. He has helped shaped who I am today, and I’ve been reading his devotional for most of my adult life. You might think I’d have found a new one by now, but every day, it speaks to me as if I’m reading it for the first time. Spurgeon has a way of painting Jesus’ words in vivid colors, bringing them to life in a way few others can.

 

Yesterday’s devotional was on John 15:9: "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you." Read that again. As Almighty God—the Maker of heaven and earth—loves His Son, so the Son loves me! How can this be? With David, I’m compelled to say, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain unto it!" (Psalm 139:6).

Spurgeon helped break down the ways in which the Father loves the Son. Here is my summary of his:

 

"I have loved thee with an everlasting love" (Jer. 31:3). I can trace the beginning of my love for God. There was a time when I did not love Him, when my heart was cold. But His love for me is "a stream whose source is hidden in eternity." Before I was formed, before I had breath, before my name was spoken—He had already loved me.

 

The Father’s love for the Son has never wavered, and Christ’s love for us is just as constant. Regardless of my sins and struggles, whether I stand on a mountaintop in triumph or tread the valleys of sorrow, His love remains the same. Whether I rest on a safe shore or feel battered by stormy seas, "His heart is faithful to His ancient choice."

 

"The Father loves the Son without any end, and thus does the Son love His people." Christ’s love will never cease. The world will fade, kingdoms will crumble, but His love endures. “Even in death, He goes with me. And not only into the grave, but up again He will guide me to the celestial hills.”

 

"The whole heart of Christ is dedicated to His people; He loved us and gave Himself for us" (Eph. 5:2). No love in this world compares to His. The love of a spouse, a mother, a father, a friend—these all have limits. But the love of Christ knows no measure. He emptied Himself for me, took my place, bore my shame, and gave Himself wholly so that I may be His forever.

 

Paul prayed that we might comprehend "the breadth, and length, and depth, and height" of this love, yet concluded that it "passeth knowledge" (Eph. 3:18-19). “Ah! We have indeed an immutable Savior, who loves without measure, without change, without beginning, without end—even as the Father loves Him.”