The Top Shelf: The Self-Sacrificing God — Wednesday
John 3:16
”For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (NLT)
My wife and I stole away for a few minutes on a recent Saturday afternoon to visit some dear friends who just had a beautiful baby boy. He is, in a word, perfect. His tiny little features, his cooing, wiggles, and delicate movements had us in awe. We have two sons ourselves, and it took us back to their early days of life.
While we were visiting, this baby boy’s beaming parents told us the story of his birth. There was a lot of struggle, pain, fear, joy, awe, and exhaustion all mixed in the tale of his entry into the world. As this young couple settles into the early days of parenting, there is one thought that would not ever, in 100 lifetimes, ever cross their minds: that they would give up their precious baby boy’s life in exchange for mine. As much as they like and even love me, they wouldn’t ever give him up for me.
John 3:16 tells us that God in Heaven did just that. When His perfect Son was born, He knew that His Son would become the ultimate sacrifice for me and everyone who has ever called the earth home. It's hard to wrap your mind around this kind of sacrifice, especially once you've experienced the transcendent love of a mother or father for your only child. Over and over again in the Bible, God is referenced and described as a father—to Jesus, and us. In fact, He is the most loving Father—astoundingly, despite the sinfulness displayed throughout the grand history of mankind, He chose to give up Jesus’ life so that sin’s grip could be extinguished when we choose to surrender to Him.
Wednesday’s Reflection
Take a few moments to meditate on the love God has for you and how it was demonstrated when He gave up Jesus’ life for you.
