Through Him, for Him, and with Him

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 John 4:9-10 NLT

Just like what John had already said, God’s love originates from His being and radiates to and in us who acknowledged Him through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Son of God is the visible expression of God’s love towards us. It was through the death of our Lord Jesus Christ that we experienced the magnitude of God’s love. Notice the description John used: “sending his one and only Son,” then he repeated it again in the next verse “sent his Son.” John uses the word “Son” to call our attention to the intimate Father-Son relationship. God the Father sent his Son into the world. More than that, “he sent his one and only Son” (see John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18). God sent His one and only Son into our sinful world to give us life. Because of God’s act of love towards us, we should have no difficulty understanding His love for us. We should not doubt the love of God. God gave his Son to die on the cross so that we might have eternal life. But He does not just want us to look for the consummation of the eternal life He promised to give, He wants us that while here on earth, magnify His one and only Son into the world as we live through him and for Him. God’s message of love is too profound that we are unable to fathom the depth of His love for us. Loving God is not natural for us; it is not inherent in us. Unless we experience His love for us through the conviction of our sin by the Holy Spirit, we won’t be able to understand God’s love. John says, “This is real love--not that we loved God, but that he loved us.” He does not say, “God loves us because we are God’s loving children.” No, the opposite is true, for Paul tells us that we have a sinful mind that is hostile to God. “For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God” (Romans 8:7-8). Let us be grateful for the life God gave us through His one and only Son. Christ died for us so that we would live through Him, for Him, and with Him.

Blessings,