God's Limitless Love
Have you ever tried to cram into something too small? Like airplane seats in United Economy Minus... or jeans that fit four years ago... or a giant Radio Flyer wagon slide that wasn’t built for middle-aged adventurers? (Let’s just say it didn’t end well for me.)
Isaiah 49 warns us against thinking too small — because our God is limitless.
In one of Isaiah’s famous Servant Songs, the question is raised:
Who is speaking here?
At first, it sounds like Israel. Verse 3 even says, “You are my servant, Israel.” But a deeper look, along with how the New Testament treats this passage, reveals something greater:
It’s Jesus.
Jesus is portrayed as the "Idealized Israel" — fulfilling Israel’s mission perfectly where Israel had fallen short.
Where Israel was called out of Egypt, Jesus came out of Egypt.
Where Israel faced wilderness testing for 40 years and failed, Jesus endured 40 days and remained faithful.
Where Israel was meant to be a light to the nations, Jesus became the true Light to the nations.
Isaiah 49:6 captures God’s expansive heart:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob... I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
God dreams bigger than we do.
Restoring Israel wasn’t enough — His vision was global redemption.
We are called to mirror God’s limitless mindset:
It’s too small to only care about our own kids — we reach our neighbors' kids too.
It’s too small to settle for comfortable Christianity — we aim to be a force for Christ, dangerous to the kingdom of darkness.
It’s too small to only plant one church — we strive to reach the hardest, most unreached places on earth.
It’s too small to think only of what’s easy — we sacrifice so others can know Jesus.
The message of Isaiah 49 isn't just about mission — it's also about love.
When God’s people felt forgotten in exile, He reassured them:
"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands."
Even when life feels disappointing or lonely, God's love never fades. He has engraved our names on His hands — a foreshadowing of Jesus, who would bear nail-scarred hands to secure our place in His family forever.
Jesus engraved His palms with death, so He could hold you in life — forever.
That is a Limitless God with Limitless Love sending us on a Limitless Mission.
So may we never be found thinking too small when we serve a God who is infinitely big.
Message recap adapted from April 27, 2025, message by Minister Mark Ashton
