Many times, when talking about God sending Jesus to earth to die on the cross for us, people make such comments as "I love you and all, but I'd never give up my son for you" or "I can't even imagine the pain of giving up my son" and the like. We hear how unimaginable it seems to give away something so precious for the world. A world that didn't even seem to care.
Well, when I think about Jesus dying on the cross for me, I think about it a bit differently. Let me explain. Stay with me.
Pretty much any parent I know would not hesitate to jump in front of a bullet for their child. And most people that I know, if not a parent, have a niece or nephew or younger sister or brother or other loved one in their lives that they would gladly jump into a volcano for if it meant saving them. A love like that doesn't even really have to think. It's a sacrifice that is gladly made. To save the one they love. Because that love is so deep and sure.
And that love was not earned. It just is. And that love may not even be appreciated. It is still given. Sometimes that love may not even be acknowledged. Still, it flows.
Well, that's how I look at Jesus dying for me. I see God as the Trinity (Father/Spirit/Son) and when it became obvious that we were going to need saving (that happened pretty soon after the creation of man), well, that love was so deep and sure that of course He would do anything for us. In a heart beat. Whatever we need. Gladly.
I would gladly jump into a pot of boiling oil to save one of my sons. It doesn't matter if he's mad at me. It doesn't matter if he even cares that I love him. It doesn't matter if he deserves to be saved or not- or wants to be saved or not. I love him. He's mine. Period.
I think most people feel that way about someone. At least I hope they do.
That's unconditional love. So, think about that love that you have for that certain someone. A child. A friend. A spouse. Think about that love that you have that would make you freely jump in front of a train to save them.
Then multiply that love a million times over and maybe we begin to see how God feels about us.
I mean, I don't even feel like I can compare human love to God's love, but that's all I have to compare it to, I guess. I mean, to think that God loves me (and you) so terribly much that He gladly dies in our place. Even if we rejected him. Even if we hated him. Even if we were the ones who killed him. Even if we didn't even know him.
And that human love I was talking about. It's not because of anything that person did. It's because of who that person is. Period. Same with God. We are each of us, individually, his child. Loved, not because of anything we've done, but simply because of who we are- His creation. We belong to Him. We're His.
And you know that movie/story where the man sacrifices his own son to save a train full of unaware passengers? Well, it's a nice movie/story and all, but God didn't send his son to die for a world full of unnamed faces. Jesus didn't die for a group of people He didn't know. Jesus died for individuals. Each one named, known, important, chosen. His. That's us!
I don't know about you, but that makes me feel pretty loved. Pretty unconditionally loved. Now, the response is up to me.
So, I will think about all that Jesus went through leading to the cross of Calvary. Pain, rejection, ridicule, beatings. But, more than that, I will think about the love that He had. So much love that He had for me. Has for me. Before I even knew Him, He already knew and loved me. And now knows and loves me.
And you know, if I were to take a bullet for a child of mine, I think that my last thought would be something like, "Whew, he's safe!"
It brings a smile to my face to think that perhaps as Jesus said, "It is finished," that maybe he felt a sense of relief, "Whew, they're safe." And I am. I hope you are, too.
He was on the cross for me. For you. Because he just loves us that much.
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