I like to read what the Apostle John
has written about faith. Whether it comes from his Gospel writing, his letters,
or even the Book of Revelation, John had the gift of writing something
succinctly and directly. He was usually not confrontational like Paul; he just
wanted people to receive Christ’s message through the power of love.
His description of love in today’s
verse shows us what God did to prove that He truly loved us: God sacrificed His
own Son to atone for our sins. Think about it: the Creator of the Universe gave
up what was the most precious thing to Him – His own Son – in order to
rescue the vilest sinners in the Universe – human beings. I cannot fully fathom
why God would do such an awful thing to save us; it just doesn’t make sense.
Instead of sacrificing Jesus, God could have destroyed everything that He made,
and then have started again, making sure that sin never came into the equation
at all. That would have been the easy way out, but God has never been One for
taking things easy.
The hardest thing that God could do
in order to save us and restore creation, was to sacrifice His loving,
precious, and dearest Son. Only a God who was loving and just could have done
that; a capricious demiurge would have backed away from such a terrible
sacrifice. True love is not just about embracing, accepting, and encouraging –
true love always includes sacrifice, selflessness, and surrender. For love of
us, God surrendered His Son to our demented depravity in order to deliver us
from ourselves, our sins, and our deaths. For love of His Father, Jesus gave up
His life to ensure our salvation, to overcome evil, and to honor God. It sounds
crazy to us, but there is a deeper love involved here than we could ever
imagine, know, or experience for ourselves.
As John wrote long ago: This
is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as
an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
What
more could God ever do to show that He loves us completely?
Prayer: Lord God, we can never
fathom the depths of Your amazing and almighty love. To sacrifice Your sinless
Son for despicable sinners like us is incomprehensible for us to fully
understand. All that we can simply do is gratefully and humbly accept Your
remarkable grace and unequalled love. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
John
Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If
you would like to make a comment or ask questions about today’s devotion,
please send him an email to traqair@aol.com.
Today’s
image is John’s latest drawing called “Surfing Style.” To view a larger
version, click on the following link: https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3670/14082073517_ceeae46cc7_b.jpg
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