- God demonstrated His own love for us in this: While
we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 reveals an
amazing fact about God's love for us. He gave himself into death
so we can live! Pretty radical isn't it? Sacrificial love is one
of the most beautiful ways to demonstrate love! Giving of self
starts with choosing to put another person's needs over your own.
You “fight” for another person's advantage rather than your
own. That takes great courage and willingness to put someone
other than yourself into the center of your universe. Your
thinking and feeling stops circling around yourself but makes
another person the focal point of your attention. This is how
Jesus loved and loves us! He removed at great cost whatever was
in our way to receive the Father's love. Now His love can flow
uninterrupted into our hearts.
The amazing thing for me is that Jesus did that before I ever knew Him. Nothing I did convinced Him that I would be a worthy cause to die for. None of my gifts or accomplishments impress Him to do something so radical for me. My “good deeds” outweighing my “not so good deeds” was not a consideration of His in giving himself for me on the cross. He died for me because of the Father's love for me! “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. (John 3:16 The Message)
Did you ever do something out of love or did you ever stop doing something out of love? Something that was costly to you, something that involved a disadvantage for you and a benefit for the other person? (Giving up the right to be right! Taking the first step to reconcile! Not to criticize or blame the other person...) Think of how you can love like this today. Becoming like Jesus is loving like Jesus! Pretty awesome to consider and act in a divine manner!
