Did you ever think about how, as an infant, you were completely dependent on someone going out of their way for you, day after day, for years, until you could begin to do things for yourself - even though you gave them nothing tangible in return? (I'm sure this is precisely what you were thinking about before you opened this email :-)

Experts say an infant is unable to begin to 'give back' to their parents with deliberate affection for many months. Between six to 12 months a parent should start seeing reciprocal displays of affection, which progresses more after 12 months. Up until that point, the parent or guardian must give, and give, without even experiencing an appreciative glance in return.

I remember those days with my four children. It seemed as if I worked for an angry boss that didn't acknowledge anything. Changing diapers, feeding, bathing, repeat, repeat. But then the day came when they began to smile back at me. Can it get any better? Yes, they make sounds! They laugh. There is no better reward or 'payback' than hearing your child say 'da-da' or 'ma-ma'. (All of my little ones said 'da-da' first btw. Just saying.) The reason it feels so good is because it's a sincere response to our expressions of love to them.

As adults, things get a little different. When someone goes out of their way for you, we don't wait months or years to respond. Our first reaction is to immediately and sincerely thank them, usually by offering something back in return. 'Can I pay you for that?' "What can I do for you?' You look for opportunities to go out of your way for them, to return the thoughtful deed. The giver appreciates it and the reciprocation process continues. There's nothing wrong with these pleasantries.

But once in a while, when we completely go out of our way for someone, sacrificing, bending over backwards - we get nothing in return. Not even a thank you. Despite the biblical command to give without expecting anything in return, you can't help but wonder why. You may even get a little hurt by it.

I remember when the gospel first hit me. To think that Someone - God in the flesh - Jesus... died for me, was pretty incredible. My first instinct was to 'do back' for Him. I began going to church, reading the bible, praying and being the best Christian I possibly could be. Were these proper responses in order to reciprocate for what He did for me? It all depends on how you look at it.

It took me several years to understand, that although the bible calls me to love Jesus Christ unconditionally, to read, pray, etc., He doesn't require me to do these things in order to pay Him back for His sacrifice. Of course, I could never in ten million years pay Jesus back for what He did for me. It's virtually impossible. My sin was so expensive, so infinitely destructive to my relationship with God, that only the eternal God Himself was able to absorb the punishment and justice that my sin deserved. But that's not even the core reason Jesus doesn't expect a payment back from me.

The real reason is that what He did by obediently going to the cross to be crucified, was a gift for me. It was free. It was an infinite, selfless act of love on His part. God's love is 100% selfless and requires nothing in return to validate it.

God took the infinite penalty that we warranted for our crimes against Him, and the infinite justice for those crimes, which we deserved, and placed them upon His Son Jesus Christ. God came to us Himself, to absorb an infinite punishment for us, one that we could never endure. Only the eternal Son of God could accomplish this amazing feat for us. And He expects nothing in return! It was pure grace. It was pure love.

Understanding this makes me want to do all I can to love Jesus and to give Him my life. Not by force, not by guilt, nor due to 'tit for tat' reciprocation, but because He has opened my eyes to an amazing love that can never be fully comprehended on this side of the final resurrection. Jesus sweeps us off our feet and causes us to follow Him as the Sovereign Lord and King!

In John 12, verses 20-36 we find the most concentrated collection of sayings on the death of Jesus in his entire gospel. As we go through the last week of Jesus' life, we see and hear Him prepare Himself and His disciples for what He is about to endure for us, expecting no payback in return.

The emotional effects of His selfless, yet painful journey to the cross begins for Jesus in our text tomorrow. We will be looking at John 12:27-36. We'll take a look at not only how (and why) Jesus obediently faced the distress of going to the cross, but the details of what He would accomplish in the process.

Try to read Psalm 42 in it's entirety in anticipation of our teaching tomorrow as well. :-)

Listen to this sermon on John 12:27-36 below