What is love? The Bible says in (I John 4:16): “…God is love….” The most widely known quote in the entire world can be found in (John 3:16). This marvelous verse, which has been translated into thousands of languages reads: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Have you ever meditated on this one verse to see just how much love God really has for you? If not, may I ask you to pause for a moment and allow your mind to meditate on the following observations; which I believe will bring you into a new dimension of love that truly “surpasses knowledge.”
2,000 years ago, a perfect human being walked this earth. Jesus Christ, not only was sinless in all of His ways, but was the ultimate personification of humility and service to mankind. His patience was longsuffering, His character beyond reproach, and His compassion unending.
Now imagine living your last three years on earth, knowing with certainty, that a death sentence would be your reward for a lifetime of loving service to mankind! In addition, imagine knowing that your date with death was going to be filled with excruciating pain, and that the mere thought of it, would be enough to cause one to faint in the process of anticipating it. Jesus knew that a cross and crucifixion awaited Him, but His love for you and me constrained Him to go on. And if this intense, agonizingly painful, and eminent death were not enough, imagine also knowing that great humiliation would surround the entire ordeal.
By the time Jesus was to breathe His last breath and give up His Spirit, the Scriptures tell us that in His last few days on earth, He would have to endure being: arrested and bound, scourged, forced to wear a crown of thorns, given blows to His face, mocked, blindfolded, spat upon, slapped in the face, forced to carry His own instrument of death (the cross), have the rulers sneer at Him, soldiers mock Him, and even a criminal hurl abuse at Him.
With all of this added humiliation, imagine the emotional pain of having your most dear and closest friends, in your greatest moment of need, all desert you. When the great crowd came to arrest Jesus, we read: “…Then all the disciples left Him and fled.” (Matthew 26:56).
As the nails were banged into His hands and He hung on that cross, the pain must have reached a crescendo high. But yet I can only now begin to get a glimpse into this love, as the following words of the Lord’s incredible love echo throughout the corridors of my mind: “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34).
But we can’t stop here because His love for us still goes deeper. For at any moment, Jesus had the power and authority to stop all of this pain, torture, humiliation, and disgrace in an instant. We read again when the great multitude came to arrest Him, the following words of Jesus: “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53). That’s 72,000 angels!
Jesus’ love has no boundaries! When he went to that cross, it was for you and me, and the whole world – past, present, and future – and to bear the entire weight of all of our sins ever committed! For He became sin for us so that the penalty of eternal separation from God – in a literal hell – might not be ours.
Imagine Adam’s one sin had the power to separate an entire world, from His time until now, from God’s presence forever. Yet Jesus bore countless trillions upon trillions of these sins in His very own body. And He was sinless!!!
My mind can’t fully comprehend this awesome scope of love, but as a result, I, a filthy sinner, by the atoning blood of Christ, have been given the gift of eternal life.
As we meditate on this magnificent love may we marvel in the Master we serve. I pray that our response will be to magnify His name to this decaying, decadent, and dying world. As we reflect on the Word of God, just allow the love of Christ to motivate us to die to self, worship, and share Christ wherever we go. Yes, for He alone is worthy!!!