1 John 4:9-11 (NLT) - “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. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.”

Often times, a young child may ask a parent - “how much do you love me?”  And a parent’s usual response would be to show the child how much they love the child by stretching out his or her arms. It may be a cute and endearing interaction between a parent and a child, but it does reflect how our hearts are needing and are longing to know real love and we have a Heavenly Father who has shown that to us - to the fullest extent.

And, how much did God show us? In this NLT translation, the phrases “how much” and “that much” are used to describe God’s love toward us. God showed us “agapé” - unconditional (”not that we loved God”) and sacrificial (”sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins”) love. While we were so undeserving and still lost in our sin, he showed us loving mercy and made a way for us through the sacrifice of his only Son so that we can be saved.

This is love. This is real love. This is gospel love. And, may we simply be undone by this reality.

Let’s spend time in worship and in thankfulness for our Father in Heaven who graciously and lovingly saved us and showed us this “much” love.  May we be transformed by the power of his love.

“Power of Your Love” sung by Darlene Zschech, written by Geoff Bullock (Hillsong)
https://youtu.be/mz7ymFyiDEw

-EK