My heart melted. The child’s message was so simple, and so powerful, and yet we all tend to forget that message. But with Resurrection Day just around the corner, it’s certainly fitting to remind you that Jesus loves you.
If Jesus Christ, the Holy One and Risen King, were to be described with just one word, that word could be simplified as this: love.
And love is not just what He did, it also embodies who He is.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12–13).
Sadly, some may equate love with weakness, but that could not be further from the truth. Love is a powerful force. It was the love of God that led Jesus to the cross and kept Him there. Remember what He prayed in Gethsemane:
And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39).
He left His splendor, honor, and glory in heaven to be born here on earth with nothing (see Isaiah 53:3).
He was innocent, but was counted guilty for sins He did not commit. He bore our sins on that cross (see Romans 5:6–8).
His body was battered and broken, so that our bodies could be healed (see Isaiah 53:5).
His head was pierced with a crown of thorns, so that we could have the mind of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 2:16).
Just a single drop of His blood is enough to make our scarlet sins turn white as wool (see Isaiah 1:18).
Through His death, He tore down the veil of separation that kept us from God. Now we can boldly approach the throne of God to find mercy and grace when we are in need (see Hebrews 4:16).
When He rose from the dead, He was victorious. He has all authority over death, and we no longer have to fear it anymore. He lives! (see 1 Corinthians 15:55–58).
We who were once enemies of the cross are now called sons and daughters of God, and we are seated in heavenly places with Christ (see John 1:12; Ephesians 2:6).
When we are struggling or feel rejected and alone, He is at the right hand of God interceding for us (see Hebrews 4:15; 7:25).
When we fall short, He extends His grace and reminds us that His grace is sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9).
He loved us first, and this is how I know what love really looks like (see 1 John 4:19).
He is the standard of love.
His name is Jesus Christ — Yeshua the Messiah — and He loves you, even on days when it’s hard to love yourself.
He laid down his life for you at the cross.
He is alive! He still heals today. He still loves the unlovable. He still intercedes. He still saves. He still is unwilling for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. He is Jesus! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
And if that isn’t love, then I don’t know what is.
There is no greater love. There never will be, but it doesn’t end here. Now we are to go forth and share His message of love with the world. We are called to demonstrate His love. The love of God in us shows that we are His disciples.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34–35).
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth (1 John 3:16–18).
As Resurrection Day approaches, let’s celebrate the resurrection every day because He is the resurrection and the life. Let’s share the love of God with everyone — and not just on Sundays, but every day. Let’s not be just hearers, but doers also. Let’s not just be talkers, but let our actions speak louder. Let’s speak the truth in love, and let us love because He first loved us.