Bible Snack #72

In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him (1 John 4:9).
 
As a parent, I am in awe of what God did. If I were the parent in heaven I would have said to Jesus, “Son, don’t go out there!  It’s dangerous. I don’t want you to get hurt. Stay inside heaven where you’re safe.”
 
But God didn’t do that. He sent His only Son. He could not generate more because this Son came from the very essence of God. When God sent Jesus to the earth, He risked everything. At any point in time during His earthly venture, Jesus could have said no, He would not finish the course. If I had been the child God sent, after my own townsmen wanted to push me off a cliff, after I was mocked and jeered, after I would have had to be strong and go ahead and heal, or proclaim the Word, time after time, while those around me were looking for ways to turn me into the Sanhedrin, after the fatigue of working day and night, I would have said, “Enough!”

Why would God send Jesus? And why would Jesus go? Because God wanted us to live—for eternity—through Jesus and with Him, our Father. He wanted a royal family where everyone is a king and a priest, like Jesus. And even though we look pretty pathetic in our humanity, He manifests His love to us this day. What He sees in us is Jesus, because that’s where Jesus now lives!