“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16)
Love has three components:
- An object – the world – you and me
- A choice and decision – love is not an emotion. Love is a decision
- A sacrifice
Today, we come across the third component of love: sacrifice.
When God chose the world as his object of love, God made the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of the beloved. In order that we might have life, God gave up his own life for our sake. That the decision for us required a rejection of everything that is not us was most clearly demonstrated on the cross of Jesus Christ.
For all of eternity, God the Father and the Son was in perfect relationship. There was never a time when God the Father and the Son were not unity and harmony.
But when the moment came for God to choose the world to be his beloved, it necessarily meant rejecting everything and everyone that was not the beloved – even his own Son.
For the first time in all of creation, when the Son turned to the Father, there was no response…just a deafening silence.
“And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'” (Matthew 27:46-47).
Everywhere else, when the New Testament speaks about God the Father and his relationship to the Son, the verb used to describe the purpose for Jesus coming to earth is always “send” as we find in John 3:17 – “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world…”
But when God wanted to remind the world how much he loves us, the word God uses is “gave.” The Greek word means “I offer,” “I give,” “I place,” “I put.” To love us, to save us, to redeem us, God offers, gives, places, and puts his Son on the cross to pay the debt of sin for us so that we might live with Christ through his resurrection.
Wow! What amazing love!!!
God absolutely loves you and that’s the God honest truth.
Praxis: Faith in Action 