The legendary Frank Sinatra expressed it this way in 1958: “To love and be loved—That’s what life’s all about!” If that’s true of a human relationship, what about when that love comes from the Almighty God of heaven? How deep and breathtaking can you imagine His love would be? There is no way to fully wrap our minds around the enormity of His love, but think about this.
First, God’s love reveals to us the truth about sin. Because He loves us, God unfolded His will for us in the pages of the Bible (2 Tim. 3:16-17). When we transgress or disobey God’s will (Heb. 2:2), or when we choose to disregard or not follow His will (Jas. 4:17), the Bible says that we sin against God (1 John 3:4). This is a big deal for all of us (Rom. 3:23)!
Second, God’s love reveals the consequences of sin. Is sin really all that bad? The Bible says that sin makes “a separation between you and your God” and causes “His face” to be “hidden” from you (Isa. 59:2). That’s because God is holy and cannot “behold evil” or “look on wickedness” (Hab. 1:13). My sin separates me from God in this life (Rom. 6:23), and if I don’t do anything to remove it, sin will separate me from God for all eternity (2 Thess. 1:8-9). This is a very serious matter! So, where is love in all of this?
Third, God’s love is revealed in His answer for sin. Since sin is the result of man transgressing the will of God, it’s amazing that God wants anything to do with us after that. But He does! In His amazing grace, God wants all of mankind to be saved from their sins (1 Tim. 2:4). His deep and unfathomable love prompted Him to send “His only begotten Son” to die on the cross (Phil. 2:6-8), so that we can be saved (Rom. 5:9-10) and spend an eternity with Him in heaven (John 3:16). Think about that! “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). While Jesus never committed a single sin Himself (Heb. 4:15), the Bible says that all of our sins were “laid upon” Him while He died on that cross (Isa. 53:6). He “bore our sins” (1 Pet. 2:24) and died, so that we could be saved! That is an amazing love!
Fourth, God’s love is revealed in His cleansing for sin. In the Bible, blood was used by God as a means by which to atone, cleanse and forgive sins (Ex. 12:1-13; Lev. 16:1-22). In the Old Testament, the blood of animals was used to make atonement, but that blood could not “take away sins” (Heb. 10:4). Only the blood of Jesus Himself, when He offered Himself as the sacrifice in our place (Heb. 9:11-28), can “wash” us (Rev. 1:5) and “save” us (Heb. 9:22) from our sins. There is no greater love than that (John 15:13)!
It is hard to fathom the depth of His love, which led Him to unconditionally and unselfishly sacrifice Himself for us! We do not deserve it! But we should be ever grateful that He has given us an opportunity to be saved from the eternal consequences of our sins and to live with Him forever!