Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:5-8).

Can you imagine what it was like up in heaven before Jesus came to earth as a baby? Just think about it. I have quite an imagination, and I began thinking about it, putting the whole scene into a perspective I can understand and relate to. You see, one day God had to throw out Lucifer and all of his followers, which was one third of all the angels, to keep their evil thoughts and ways from contaminating heaven.

No wonder one of the things God hates is people who sow discord, causing strife and division among the brethren. No wonder Jesus prayed for unity among the disciples and those who would be his disciples in the future. I’ve gone through a church split, and personally know of many others. It’s a horrible thing. Good people are hurt and many are disillusioned, somehow blaming God for what people have done. This is not what God wants; it never was. He wishes that we would all dwell together in unity and harmony.

Nevertheless, I imagine it was a sad day in heaven when God was betrayed by his chief musician. Not only did Lucifer turn against him, but he caused many others to do the same. It wasn’t God’s idea. God didn’t create evil. It was the turning away from God, the absence of God in Lucifer’s thoughts and life that produced the evil. When Lucifer rejected God as the supreme being, evil was present.

When Lucifer, or Satan as we call him, was kicked out of heaven with his angels, he made it his personal goal to do whatever was necessary to keep as many people here on earth from ever knowing God and his plan for us to live forever with him in heaven. Satan can never enter heaven again, and he doesn’t want anyone else to, either. He is a great deceiver. Yet he, himself, is so deceived that he believes he is greater than God. He tries to convince people to worship him, a mere counterfeit, instead of our worshipping the one and true God, who made us and all of creation.

So, when Satan tricked Eve into eating the forbidden fruit, with Adam following in her footsteps, Satan felt that he, indeed, had won the victory and was greater than God. It wasn’t God’s plan for Adam and Eve to get kicked out of the Garden of Eden, like Satan had been thrown out of heaven, but since it happened, God came up with a plan to allow his people to be reconciled to him.

He knew that since Adam and Eve failed, giving in to sin, that their sinful blood would be passed down through all of time, and the only thing that could purify it would be perfect blood being sacrificed to cleanse it. Since there was no such thing as perfect blood, untainted by sin, in the earth, God’s only other choice was to search through heaven.

Now, we all know the mystery of the Trinity: God, the Father; Jesus, the Son; and the Holy Spirit. Can you imagine what Jesus’ life was like in heaven? Not really, I guess, because the best that we can think of doesn’t even compare to the reality of its glory. What it must have been like for Jesus to even consider leaving all of that, knowing where he would be going! What it must have been like for him to consider leaving all of that, knowing what he would have to suffer and go through in his life as a mortal man! Jesus didn’t have to do it. He chose to do it. Why? Because he loved us, and he knew if he didn’t, we could never be reconciled to him. We could never know him or his great love for us. We could never know his peace, his joy, his goodness, and his heaven.

Imagine what God must have been feeling to send, or even allow, his one and only son to go through with such a plan, knowing the horrible pain, the rejection, and the unbearable suffering and torture he would have to endure. He loved his son, even greater than we love our own children.

Yet, he looked past all of that and saw you and me, and he had a great love for us, too, even though we didn’t love him back. Some of us even treated him terribly, and seemed to have a greater devotion to Satan and his evil ways. Yes, God’s plan was that Jesus would also be resurrected and would be reunited with him in heaven, but what a price to pay!

Too often, we take it all for granted. God didn’t have to send us his son. Jesus didn’t have to give up all of his glory and riches in heaven and live the life of a poor servant, with the only gratitude being having his friends betray and deny him on the night he needed them the most. If that wasn’t enough, as he hung on that lonely cross with the weight of all our sin upon him, God’s presence also left him, and he felt that God had truly forsaken him, too. Yet, in the midst of it all, he had to forgive those that put him there. Otherwise, he couldn’t be a perfect sacrifice.

We have been given the greatest gift of all, but it’s still up to us to receive it!

Vicki