“God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world, so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”
1 John 4:9-10

Good Friday marks just one day in the life of Jesus. Yet it was that one day which changed everything for everyone. The impact of that one single day has forever impacted religion and politics, the world’s economy, right down to our calendars, and even our family gatherings. It was that one day which inspired hundreds of powerful hymns and praise songs, including the writing of the song How He Loves by David Crowder.

Love is a word we use for so many things in our lives. Everything from saying, “I love my family” to “I love pizza.” How do we know which love is greater? Perhaps the word love has lost some of its passion and power with such casual use and application in our everyday lives, and if so, do we really understand how He loved us on this day?

When we hear that God loves us, do we really grasp how deep that love really goes? As with any kind of love, we don’t grasp its depth until it involves sacrifice. It’s sacrifice that reveals the costs one would pay, or the length that one would go in order to love. We typically think of Valentine’s Day as the day of love, but really, today is the day of the greatest love story ever told.

It’s a love story about God loving you through his Son Jesus. His words on the cross, “It is finished” reveal that God’s love includes a sacrifice of eternal proportions, for which you and I can be eternally thankful. Listen how John 3:16 explains this, “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.”

And this is echoed again in 1 John 4:9-10, which says, “God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world, so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”

You know, that’s why this one day is when the world witnessed the greatest love ever. It was that Good Friday, the day when God the Father gave His one and only Son as a sacrifice on the cross. So great, so deep is His love for us. As you look upon the cross of this Good Friday, may you be reminded this is how He loves us.

Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your great love for us. You demonstrated how deep Your love was willing to go when You gave up your one and only Son to go to the cross so that we could have the forgiveness of all of our sins, so that heaven might be opened up to sinners like us.

And so we thank You for this love story that we again see on this Good Friday, Your son pouring out His life at the cross so that we might find a life that can never be taken away. A life that will go on into eternity with You, and in the presence of Your love forever. Bless us as we worship You this Good Friday.

And thank You for the way that You love us. Amen.