The Lion of Judah

    I recently became a Dad. My son Judah was born December 18th of 2022. When my wife Kim and I were trying to think of a name it didn’t take long for us to decide to name him Judah. In the Bible when Judah is born he is the fourth child of Leah. Leah hoped her husband would love her by giving him three sons. But, when she had Judah she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” The line of Judah did exactly that, it brought praise to the Lord. King David of Israel would come from the line of Judah and so would Jesus who is called the Lion of Judah.
    Everyday I pray that my son will live up to his name and bring the Lord the praise He deserves. When my son Judah was born I looked at him and immediately loved him. It was not a love that I had experienced before. It was not a learned love but a love that wanted to take care of him and protect him. At that moment I didn’t think that I could ever love him more. I was wrong. Each and every day that I spend with this kid I realize I love him more. I realized that I would do anything to keep him safe.
    Most often when we talk about God the Father’s love, we talk about it in relation to us. Today I want to start with His love for Jesus, His Son, the Lion of Judah. When we talk about the Father’s love for his Son it now has new meaning to me. As I love my son more and more I can’t imagine how much God the Father loves Jesus who has been with him forever in this Father Son relationship. When we better understand how much the Father loves Jesus his Son, we can better understand how great of a sacrifice it was for the Father to send him to earth to die. When I think of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins my mind always imagined Jesus as loving me so much that he would die but I never thought about how much love it takes to allow your only Son to die. It would be a much bigger sacrifice for me to let Judah die then for me to die myself. It takes a love unlike any other to sacrifice your son for others.
    The verse that we all know so well comes to mind. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.” This is talking about the love of the Father for us. He loved you so much that he would give his only Son to die for your sins. You are loved in a way that you cannot even imagine. As we go about our life be reminded that if you are a Christian, you are experiencing a love unlike any other. If you are not a Christian, then step into the love of the Father who sent his Son to die for you. You are loved.

- Pastor Josh Bridges