Table of Contents
Valentine’s day is drawing near. Many dollars are spent to show that special someone how much they are loved. I encourage you to reflect for a moment on the love of Almighty God toward mankind. There is no greater love than this.
Consider one of the most quoted passages of Scripture, John 3:16.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
- Would you be willing to give up your only child so that others would live?
- Do you love someone so much that you would sacrifice your only child?
God Gave Because He Loves Us
God loves us so much that He gave His Son to pay the penalty for our crimes. What crimes have we committed you may ask?
- (2 Timothy 3:2-5) Modern English Version (MEV)
- Men will be lovers of themselves,
- lovers of money,
- boastful,
- proud,
- blasphemers,
- disobedient to parents,
- unthankful,
- unholy,
- without natural affection,
- trucebreakers,
- slanderers,
- unrestrained,
- fierce,
- despisers of those who are good,
- traitors,
- reckless,
- conceited,
- lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God,
- having a form of godliness, but denying its power
God gave Jesus Christ because God’s desire was that we all had the opportunity to live in His Kingdom for all eternity. He loves us so much that He gave Jesus Christ to die in our place. And Jesus willingly suffered the shame and pain. There is no greater love than this.
Isaiah 53 (NLT)
2 …There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.3 He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. 4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down…
Jesus Willingly Gave Because He Loves Us
- 5 But he was pierced for our rebellion,
- crushed for our sins.
- He was beaten so we could be whole.
- He was whipped so we could be healed.
- 7 He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word.
- He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.
- 8 Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared …
- 9 He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone.
- But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave.
“All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.” – Is 53:6
Accept or Reject so Great a Love
Can you imagine loving someone so much that you would be willing to allow your child to go through what Jesus did to give mankind the choice to accept or reject the sacrifice of God the Father and Jesus Christ’s payment for your crimes?
Yet many reject Him today. Please remember there is no greater love than this.
“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. ” – John 15:13-14
Jesus the Christ
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” – John 3:16
Scriptures used are from biblegateway.com and unless otherwise noted, I’m using the New Living Translation (NLT)Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
- desiringGod.org
