His Sacrifice - 2.5.25

How do we really grasp the magnitude of the sacrifice Jesus made for us by going to the cross and dying for our sins?

Think of the one person you love more than anything in this life. For many, it is a spouse. For some, it may be a parent, or a child. Perhaps it is your best friend.

Now name that person. For me, that person is my husband Dave.

Most likely, (Your person) knows all of your faults. They see your daily mistakes. They watch you stumble. They see your sin.  And they love you anyway!  Through it all, they love you the same. They never judge you. They don’t condemn you. They are patient with you.  They still choose you. You feel no shame with them. You can trust them completely.

Now picture (Your person) seeing all of your faults, your sin, your mistakes and coming to you one day and saying “I love you unconditionally, but someone needs to make payment for your sin.” 

You might stop in your tracks and think to yourself “What does that mean?!”  You may wonder if it’s a monetary payment, or worse... maybe it means you have to make restitution for what you’ve done. Uh-oh. Prison? Work camps? What do you have to do?  Will people find out?  Will it be public knowledge? 

But then (Your person) says “I can make your past sin - and any future sin - go away. But in order for your sin to go away, and for you to not have to pay a price yourself, I will need to die for you.”

You are appalled. Maybe you will laugh. Surely, you must be joking, you think to yourself.

(Your person) continues, “I will suffer great pain and persecution in this process. It will be very difficult for you to watch. People will hate me. They will torture me. They will spit on me. They will mock me.”

You start to cry. You realize (Your person) is serious about this. How can this be?

“No…!” you whisper.  “No.”  You hear an agonizing sound. A guttural nose. You realize it’s you. You begin to beg, to plead.  “I’ll stop! I won’t do those things anymore!” 

(Your person) touches your cheek, smiles gently. 

“Please! PLEASE! I can be better. I can do it! I know I can. I won’t sin anymore. I won’t say bad things. I won’t be unkind. I won’t lie anymore.  I won’t hurt others. Please! I’ll stop!!”

You look closely at (Your person).  You think of all the wonderful things they have done for you. How they shared in your joy and in your pain. How they were always there for you. How they loved you unconditionally. Oh how deeply they love you! 

You fall to your knees, crying, begging.  “Is there any other way? There must be another way! I’ll pay my own price for my sin. It’s my fault, not yours!”

(Your person) looks directly at you – it’s almost as if they are looking through you – and shakes their head. 

Your mind races. You begin to rationalize your sins. Perhaps you place blame on others. Certainly what you’ve done doesn’t require death.  And even if it does, couldn’t it be someone else – or you – to pay the price? Why does it have to be the one person who loves you more than anything? Why (Your person)?

(Your person) said pain and torture would be involved. You begin to think about how much pain and torture you can handle. As your mind spins, you feel physically ill. You’re not sure you can handle being whipped, beaten. I’m not strong enough, you think, I can’t do this. I’m afraid!  Maybe I can just be a better person. Stop sinning. Yes, you think to yourself, I can try to be perfect.

(Your person) touches your hand. It’s as if they heard your thoughts, when they say, “I have to do this. It’s impossible for anyone to achieve perfection, to stop sinning, to live a holy life. I don’t want your sins held against you. I don’t want you to have to pay for your sins. Once this is done, your sins will be cast away. Forever.”

You realize this really is going to happen. You sit there, in awe, dumbfounded. You cannot believe that someone would love you that much.  The worst part? You cannot believe that you would send (Your person) – the one who loves you most!! - to a painful, tortuous death because of what you’ve done.  

Only someone who loves you with the deepest love imaginable – even with all of your flaws and imperfections - would do something so selfless for you.

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for their friends.”

John 15:13

This is a picture of how much Jesus loves you, and the lengths He would go to for you. The lengths He did go to for you. It is only when we truly understand the magnitutde of His great love for us that we can begin to respond by serving Him with a grateful heart and a willingness to want to share that kind of love with others. His sacrifice was great. His love even greater.