So I’ve been thinking about love a lot lately. Not necessarily romantic love, but rather God’s love. We’ve probably all heard John 3:16 to the point that we no longer let it touch us. Or maybe we never let it touch us in the first place. I’ve been spending the past few weeks trying to let it sink it & really touch my heart.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
If I’m really being honest, it’s been a long time since I even thought about what that truly means. God loved us so much that He gave His one & only Son so that we could have eternal life with Him. For some (& for me), I’ve had a hard time registering what that means. So I thought about it another way. I don’t have a son or daughter, but I do have nephews. What if, to save the world a terrible eternity, God had asked me to sacrifice any one of my nephews? Just one out of the four. No only couldn’t I do it, I probably would choose not to do it. They are too precious to me. I love them far to much to think of giving any of them up. I wouldn’t be able to bear the pain. I couldn’t bear to see any of them suffer what Jesus suffered through. Even if I knew that they would live again, I still don’t think I could choose to let them go through that.
But that’s exactly what God did.
Did He love His one and only Son any less than I love my nephews? No, He loves Him more than we can ever imagine. But He loves us more than we could ever imagine too. Can you imagine the pain He felt as He watched Jesus being beaten and nailed to the cross? Can you imagine how He felt when He had to look away from His son because of the sin He took on for us? I think He did it this way so that we could see just how ugly our sin is, how our sin separates us from God, & the sacrifice it took to make our relationship with Him right again.
We start out these (in our eyes) perfect little babies. Precious smiles, that sweet baby smell, and innocent. Over the years, we pick up hurts and scars. We become (in ours & others’ eyes) a little less perfect. We bend the truth. We put ourselves first. We say hurtful things to others either purposefully or out of a place of hurt. The wedding dress becomes a little less white and a little more tattered. And some days, it’s hard to imagine that anyone would want us, much less die for us.
But even after all that, Jesus not only wants us, but He’s jealous for us. He wants our hearts. He thinks we’re absolutely stunning. He doesn’t want an eternity without us. Not only did God sacrifice His one & only Son, but Jesus went to the cross voluntarily went to the cross for the joy that was ahead of Him. We were and still are worth it for Him.
In light of that kind of love, how can we not respond with:
“Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all.”
Guys, we are loved. We are adored. He is jealous for our hearts. We are His reward. Soak that in. Let it change your heart. Because if that doesn’t change your heart, I don’t know what will.
