John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
As we continue our thoughts this week on the subject of love, I am reminded
that true love is accompanied by action. I think of the man whose wife said to
him on their 50th anniversary, "You haven't told me that you love me since
the day we were married." His answer to her was, "Well, I would have
told you if anything had changed about that." It is important to speak
words of love and it is just as important to show love by our actions.
"God so loved...." It doesn't say, "So, God loved
..." and then He acted as a response to that; rather, this verse tells us
that God's love is so deep and wonderful that the ONLY full expression of that
love was in the giving of His ONLY begotten Son. I didn't fully appreciate this
verse until having children of my own. My love for my children is so deep that
I would give myself before I gave them. I say again that God's love could only
be fully expressed in this manner.
The sending of His Son was not a mere exercise of Jesus leaving heaven and
coming to this earth to teach, heal, and be the example to show us how to live.
If we only needed healing, God would have sent a doctor. If we only need to
learn, He would have sent a teacher. But we needed saving from our sins. God
would have still been God if He had left us in the state of being dead in
trespasses and sins, but His love for us transcended our sinfulness. His love
was so great that He would not leave us in that state even though it required
the perfect, sinless sacrifice. Let's read John's writing from his first
letter. "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that
God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through
him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and
sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:9-10) That
word, propitiation, means that Jesus completely satisfied the debt that was
against us because of our sins. He paid the full price for us to have the
assurance of our home in heaven's glory. Yes, because of God's love....
And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete
"Jesus died, my soul to save"
My lips shall still repeat
Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow