The Love Story
The Love Story
Look at how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children. (1 John 3:1)
We don’t have cable at our house, and the government TV box isn’t working so well. So in the evenings, we’ve been watching movies or reading. The theme of love runs through lots of books and movies. I’ve seen friendship love with Sam and Frodo in the Lord of the Rings; I’ve seen romantic love with Darcy and Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. These love stories move me to tears while my husband mutters something about chick flicks.
But of all the love stories ever told, the greatest love story happened two thousand years ago on a hill called The Skull. It’s the story of the pure, blameless Son of God dying for sinful, undeserving sons and daughters of men. It’s about the Hero rescuing His beloved, the Creator redeeming His created, the Spotless murdered for the stained.
God knew before He ever created us that we would sin, causing an impossible gap between Him and the people He created. Jesus knew before time began that He would come to earth to save us. As the great rescue mission played out, did Jesus ever wonder if we were worth it? As God the Father poured out His wrath on His beloved Son for our sins, did He ever think twice about saving us? I don’t think so. Why? Because God is love.
God loves us because He chooses to. And that’s why Jesus went to the cross—because of love. He knew our desperate need, our utter hopelessness, our certain doom. He willingly went to the cross, and love held Him there. His love story moves us to tears, but His love changes us forever.