Love. How did one show it? How could God Himself show truth and love at the same time in a world like this?
By dying. The answer stood out for me sharper and chiller than it ever had before that night: the shape of a Cross etched on the history of the world.
Corrie ten Boom
The Hiding Place
Jesus went the Cross with his eyes open. He knew what was coming. Still he went. That’s love. There is no such thing as conditional love. Conditional love is a business agreement. “If you do this and don’t do that, then I will love you.” Jesus’s love isn’t like that. Jesus went to the Cross knowing how I would dishonor and defy him. Jesus went to the Cross knowing that I would poison this body and mind that he entrusted me. Still he went. That’s why it’s the good news. I was guilty and he gave me his innocence. I have nothing to give him and still he gave his life for me. Like Hosea coming to the marketplace for Gomer, he found me and paid for me. That’s love.
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13 ESV)