THIS IS REAL LOVE
If we have any claim to love, it originates with God, who first loved us. This love is most fully demonstrated in the sending of His Son, Jesus, as the “sacrifice” for our sins, dying on the cross for us. For in the cross we see the intersection of God’s love demonstrated and God’s justice satisfied. Our sin called for death, but God’s love answered the call, sending Jesus to die in our place.
That God sent Jesus shows that real love is giving. That He offered Jesus as the propitiation for our sins shows that real love is sacrificial. Propitiation is about covering and satisfaction. Christ’s sacrifice both covers our sin and satisfies the proper demands of a righteous God for judgment on sin. God’s righteousness required that He judge sin. God’s love moved Him to send His Son to pay the price for our sin.
The Greek word for this kind of love is “agape.” It is unconditional love. It loves because of who God is, not because of who we are. It is God’s kind of love. For as the apostle John wrote, “God is love” (1 John 4:8).
This is real love–– not that we loved God, but that He loved us. This is real love–– that Christ willingly lay down His life for us.
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for loving us and sending Your Son as a sacrifice for our sin. Help us to show Your love, Your real love, to this world by loving You and loving our neighbor with the unconditional love You have poured out in us. In Jesus’ name, amen.