Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13
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. John 3:16
I am overwhelmed by the great love of God for me and for you! I've been meditating on the events of Holy Week. The suffering of Jesus emotionally, physically, and spiritually which made it possible for each of us to be reconciled to God. Jesus was all man and all God, and the Bible says that He experienced every temptation that we will ever face in His short time on this earth. He knew the torture that would fill every moment of His final week of human life, and in human anguish, He knelt and prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." And then, in an act of obedience to His Father, Jesus rose to face the beginning of the end.
Almost immediately, Jesus was handed over to the religious leaders by one of His closest and most trusted friends. Judas betrayed Jesus. Jesus had given everything He had to His disciples: love, time, prayer, wisdom, and much more, and yet, one of them turned his back on Jesus. Peter denied Him too, out of fear for his own life. Jesus' human heart must have been broken.
Jesus was interrogated, and mocked, and beaten until He was bloody and close to death. A crown of thorns was pressed into His head. He was forced to carry His own cross, but He was so weak that He was unable to do it.
And then the Savior was crucified; nailed to a wooden cross by spikes driven through His wrists and feet. Excruciating pain. The cross was raised to a standing position. Gravity tore at the flesh in Jesus wrists and feet and made it nearly impossible for Him to breathe. Jesus hung on the cross until after sunset, enduring physical pain and insults, and yet, extending love and forgiveness to the people who surrounded Him there.
Jesus took on the sins of the world for all time, separating Himself from God. In a final act of love for us, He separated Himself from His loving Father. And then He placed His spirit into the hands of God and He breathed His last human breath.
It was an act of greater love than I can imagine: love for you and for me and for every person who would ever walk the face of the earth. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, and He suffered in ways that we cannot even comprehend so that once and for all our sin would not separate us from God, who created us for relationship with Him.
But, that is not the end; it is only the beginning! Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead. Resurrection Day!!! He conquered death, hell, and the grave. He was victorious once and for all! He offers that victory to us, if we will receive His gift of love. The Bible is filled with words of God's love for us!
The only rational response to this tremendous act of love is gratitude. We must receive it as a gift of grace, offered to us with more love than we can comprehend. God offers us a relationship with Him, and the only act required of us is a prayer telling Him we receive Jesus' sacrifice of blood that gives forgiveness for our sins and restores our relationship with God. It is the greatest LOVE ever known!
