The Greatest Love
One verse from the Gospel of John says: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
To give your son, your one beloved son, whom you love more than your own life, for your enemies, who will crucify him in cold blood—this is an act beyond all reason. The example of Jesus Christ is a testament to God's immeasurable love for rebellious, corrupt, and insignificant beings. The thought that the God of the universe gave His only Son as a ransom for His enemies surpasses all human understanding. This is why the Bible calls it a "mystery."
However, it is a "revealed" mystery, manifested in four actions:
- The Decision: God decided to separate His Son from eternal fellowship with Him to offer Him fully as a ransom for a rebellious world.
- The Incarnation: The Son, who is Himself God, gave up His heavenly privileges and took on a simple human body, with all its limitations and deficiencies.
- The Trial: As the "Son of Man," Jesus lived for 33 years under the fire of temptation and resisted evil. Throughout His life, Jesus obeyed God perfectly.
- The Sacrifice: Jesus voluntarily surrendered Himself to His crucifiers, died in humanity's place, and bore the sins of the whole world. Our sins condemned us to eternal separation from the Father. There was even the possibility that He might never return from death.
From our perspective, the fourth act is hopeful: through Jesus' death, we became rightful beneficiaries of a covenant. Instead of the destruction we deserved, we received the right to eternal life. From that point onward, the path to a new beginning has been open to every mortal, through the merit of the blood shed on the cross. This is the good news, the Gospel for us.
The Gospel calls this supreme love, which gives everything for the undeserving, grace. Grace places Christianity in irreconcilable contrast with other religions. Every other system operates on the principles of earning and repayment—you get what you deserve. In contrast, God's mercy gives everything as a gift, freely, without merit, asking only for acceptance in return.
Before the events of Golgotha, many thought of God as harsh and severe. Through the crucifixion of His Son, God revealed His true nature, which is boundless and unconditional love.
Lucian Cristescu "Kezdj el élni!", Viaţӑ şi Sӑnӑtate Kiadó, Bukarest, 2016