Thursday, May 25, 2006

Devoted love

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:7-8).

Many people have been willing to die to protect a good person. A Greek story tells of the loyalty between two friends, Damon and Pythias. The ruler of Syracuse had sentenced Pythias to death. Pythias begged to be set free for a brief time so that he could put his affairs in order. Damon pledged his life as a guarantee that his friend would return, and Pythias did indeed return before the time set for his execution. The tyrant was amazed at the deep devotion these two men shared, and was so moved that he begged to be included in their friendship.

Damon and Pythias were both good men, and they were prepared to die for each other. But it is a much rarer thing to find someone who is willing to die for a person who is conceited, selfish, abusive, lazy, a liar, a cheat or a thief.

In this, Jesus is unique. He willingly went to the cross to suffer and die for people who hated Him, who had no respect for His Father’s Ten Commandments, who would in no way admit that they ever did anything wrong. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He died for those who cried at the foot of the cross. He died for those who taunted Him as He suffered. He died for those who walked past on the way to market, and took no notice of Him. He died for those who lived so far away that they had not even heard of Him. He died for the criminals on the crosses next to Him, for the prostitutes of Jerusalem, and for the crooked politicians in the capitol. He died for me. He died for you.

And why did Jesus do this? Because in this selfless act, God demonstrates his own love for us. God our Savior…wants all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4). By suffering and dying as He did, Jesus took upon Himself the wrath of God that our sins deserved. He suffered and died that we might be spared an eternity of dying in hell. And He performed this act of loving self-sacrifice for billions of people throughout history who in no way deserved such a gift of love. Jesus died for people you and I might never even consider spending time with, let alone dying for. Unlike us, His love is perfect.

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