"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
Yesterday we talked about God's answer to a question that I had concerning the suffering that Jesus went through at the cross. The question was this- since sin required a punishment and Jesus was the only one who could pay it, and God was the one who decided what the punishment would be, why did He set the punishment so high? Why didn't He make it easier and lighter on Jesus? Why did He pour out the full cup of suffering on Him?
The answer He gave me was that because of the vile nature of sin from His perspective, the punishment had to be equal- a little slap on the wrist could not satisfy the righteousness of God. The punishment for our sins had to be equal to the crime.
He also showed me something else about why the punishment was so horrific. The cross was also God's expression of love to mankind. He was sending us a message. The message was- I don't just love you, but I LOVE you! The Father placed the whole weight of sin and punishment on Jesus to the same degree that He loves us.
He demonstrated His love toward us and let us know at the same time that His love for us was no little matter! He was saying, "See how much I love you, I'll take a beating for you. See how much I love you, I'll let them mock me, ridicule me, slap me around, nail me to a cross, and I will die for you."
So when we look at the horrendous suffering that Jesus went through we see that sin is no little matter to God, and neither is His love a little matter.
Have a great day. He wanted you to know that His love for you is so great, so He demonstrated how great by suffering so much.
For further reading:John 3:16,17
Romans 8:38,39
1 John 3:16
1 John 4:9,10
No comments:
Post a Comment