For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:7-8)

The Demonstration Of God’s Love

Stories of heroism have long filled the pages of history. Men and women put themselves in harm’s way to save others. The courage of some to sacrifice their lives for the safety of others is an incredible story of love. Parents sacrifice their lives to protect their children. Total strangers help others to find rescue and, in the process, lose their own lives. These stories inspire humanity’s spirit for the goodness in others.

Consider the reasons people give for dying for others. A father sees his young child in the path of an oncoming car and pushes the child out of the way to save her. He dies to save his child. There is a sense of justice to take the place of a good or righteous man who is facing death. From the human standpoint of justice, taking the place of a condemned man is hard to accept.

A man walks into a business and kills several people. He is condemned to die for his act of murder and hatred. Family members tell the man they forgive him, but are they willing to take his place of execution? The measure of mercy shown against a vile and despicable person is a more challenging issue to resolve. A sense of fairness demands the guilty be punished and condemned to die without mercy. Most would understand this kind of rationale to punish the guilty.

God is not man. This simple fact is what creates the most incredible love story in the history of man. No man has ever lived that measures to the wickedness and evil of what the Lord looked upon the earth and saw. It was not a single person who had offended the Creator. All of humanity hated God, despised Him, rebelled violently against Him, and treated Him with contempt. In all fairness, the world should have been wiped clean of every human. There is none righteous. No one.

When God looked upon the face of the earth during the days of Noah, everyone would die by His hand except four men and four women. God wiped off the face of the earth, everything that had the breath of life. The flood did not cure the problem of sinful man. It was not long before sin took over the hearts of men. Viewing the hearts of men from His eternal domain, God saw the intent of men’s hearts as continually evil. Instead of destroying man – who was guilty of sin and worthy of the wrath of the Creator – God chose to save mankind.

The sacrifice of Jesus was not because anyone was worthy or deserving of His blood. Jesus was sinless. He had never wronged man, and He had never disobeyed God. Every man on the face of the earth was guilty of sin. God demonstrated His own love, allowing the wretched creature of His creation to torture and kill His beloved Son. Why? Because God loved man.

Jesus did not die because someone was righteous or good. In fact, Jesus died for the worst creature on earth. Man was a sinner, a weak creation, an ungodly product of his own lusts, and an enemy of God. Everything screamed for God to destroy humanity – He chose to save it. The demonstration of love is beyond words for men to understand why God would do such a thing.

There is nothing worthwhile in me to deserve the love of God. Christ died for me. I am the reason Jesus died on the cross. Two thousand years may separate me from the event outside Jerusalem where the Jews screamed for Jesus to be crucified and the Romans nailed the Son of God to a tree – but I am guilty and undeserving. By God’s grace, I see His love. More than that, I see the demonstration of God’s love. His act of love to sacrifice His Son can never be repaid. Thank God for His demonstration of love.