This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 1 John 4:9-11.
I watched as my son walked down the long hallway. Wearing a hospital gown and cap, he walked toward the room where he would have surgery. It was minor surgery, but surgery, nonetheless. A part of me wanted to break through the doors, grab him, and take him home. I knew it was for his good; we knew he had to go; but still, it was tough.
What great love God has for us that he sends his only begotten Son into our world of sin and pain and death so that we might live through him! To be clear, this was not an easy thing that God would do. The Father loved the Son. O, how he lit up the night sky to announce his arrival on earth! And remember how the Father’s voice proudly boomed forth from the heavens, “This is my Son, whom I love.”
But in an unforgettable display of love, Jesus would walk the way of suffering for our good. God sent his Son as a gift of love for people who deserved no such thing. God had created mankind to love him, to take care of his creation, to love each other, and human beings quickly messed that all up. Yet God reacted in love that astounds us still today. He promised and sent his only Son to be our Savior. He came to take on our guilt, to take on our punishment of death, and in turn, he would give us his gift of eternal life.
During this Lenten season, as we once again walk with Jesus towards the cross and arrive at the empty tomb, consider anew what God has done for you. In his great love, God sent his one and only Son to be the atoning sacrifice for your sin and mine. Jesus willingly came so that you and I might be at one with God both now and forever in heaven.
God sent his one and only Son down that path for us. He loved us that much. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. Amen.