Indian evangelist Sundar Singh wrote about a devastating forest fire in the Himalayas where he was traveling. While many were trying to fight it, a group of men stood looking up at a tree with flames climbing up its branches. They were watching a mother bird flying frantically in circles above the tree. She was chirping out an alarm to her nest full of fledglings. As the nest began to burn, the mother bird didn’t fly away; instead she zoomed down and covered her brood with her wings. In seconds she and her nestlings were burned to ashes.
Singh then said to the awe-stricken spectators: "We have witnessed a truly marvelous thing. God created that bird with such love and devotion that she gave her life trying to protect her young. . . . That is the love that brought Him down from heaven to become man. That is the love that made Him suffer a painful death for our sake."
The above story is a stirring illustration of Christ’s love for us. We also stand in awe as we think of Calvary where the fire of holy judgment burned. For there Jesus willingly suffered and "bore our sins in His own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24).
Lord, thank You for dying in our place. How grateful we are for all that You have done! – Vernon Grounds
Under His wings I am safely abiding,
Though the night deepens and tempests are wild;
Still I can trust Him, I know He will keep me,
He has redeemed me and I am His child. – Sankey
READ: 1 Peter 2:21-25
Christ endured the fires of judgment that we might enjoy the forgiveness of God.<