Herein is Love

1 John 4:10, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”


God manifests His love in many ways, but the highest manifestations of it are in Christ. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. To give Him as a teacher was wonderful. To give Him as a healer of men was wonderful. To give Him as an example was wonderful. But to give Him as a sacrifice for our sins is the most wonderful thing of all. Indeed, “Herein is love ... that he ... sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”


Bishop Ryle said:-


“Would I know the length and breadth of God the Father's love towards a sinful world? Where shall I see it most displayed? Shall I look at His glorious sun, shining down daily on the unthankful and evil? Shall I look at the seed time and harvest, returning in regular yearly succession? Oh, no! I can find a stronger proof of love than anything of this sort. I look at the cross of Christ: I see in it not the cause of the Father's love, but the effect. There I see that God so loved this wicked world, that He gave His only begotten Son,-gave Him to suffer and die-that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”