1 John 4:9 AMP
[9] By this the love of God was displayed in us, in that God has sent His [One and] only begotten Son [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind] into the world so that we might live through Him.
This is a letter written by one of the disciples, who called himself John the Beloved. He was one of the members of the inner caucus of the disciples, having a front-row seat to some of the amazing events of Jesus' earthly ministry, such as the transfiguratiion of Jesus, the appearance of Moses and Elijah, and the heartbreaking events at the cross, where Jesus entrusted him with the care of His earthly mother. He was a disciple who truly had an understanding of what love from God's perspective looks like, as we can see clearly from this first letter. He knew that this love is best understood in action, not merely in word as we see today.
How do we know that what we see is true love and not pretence? It will take a lot of pain and a little bit of 'stupidity' for a mortal man to give up his life for someone who hates him. It is not the way of the world to sacrifice itself for another person to walk all over him. We are by nature, proud and self-conscious; we need structure and predictability to our lives so we can take appropriate action to defend ourselves if and when the need arises. This is why what Jesus did is extraordinary; He did not wait for us to model good behaviour, or to earn the salvation He secured; in fact, at the time the sacrifice was made, I was not even born, so there was no way to determine how I would react.
This is love: freely given, without conditions or limitations, so that the targets would make up their minds on how to react. There were no guarantees that I would accept the gift; in fact, the Omniscient God who knows the end from the beginning knew that some people would reject the gift to the end of their lives, yet He went ahead to offer the gift. Even if it was for just me, that one person who would come and take hold of what Jesus offered, God considered it worth the pain and sacrifice. Oh, what love!. A love that did not wait for me to earn, deserve or merit it, but He gave it all the same. Love from an eternal and limitless God to a mortal and limited man.
In that conclusion above lies yet another eternal truth: God would not do all these and there would be no consequence to rejection of His gift. If He has secured eternal life with Him through this sacrifice, who can turn around and blame Him for missing eternity with Him if I reject His gift to the end? God will not force Himself on anyone, and He will not go against the exercise of my freewill. There has to be a willingness to submit; a desire to personally experience this God. We live in and by Him; God has provided no other way. I must remember: eternity hangs on my response to what God has done and given. How do you plead? God's time of favour is here.
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