February 18th, 2025
Last week, many parts of the world celebrated Valentine’s Day – a holiday that generates huge amounts of revenue in the name of love. Cards, flowers, and chocolate fly off the shelves as tokens of love. However, true love comes only from God and it’s not just a token. We can only love because He first loved us!
The greatest demonstration of love is not a token, but sacrifice. Jesus is the greatest picture of love we could ever know, and the power of that truth is a thread throughout the Bible.
Jesus said that Abraham, who preceded Him by thousands of years, saw His day and rejoiced (John 8:56). We don’t know all that Abraham saw. He may have seen the miracles and power of Jesus, but we know with certainty that he saw the power of Jesus’ sacrifice.
In Genesis 22, Abraham obeyed the voice of the Lord and took Isaac – his only son and the son of promise – to the top of Mount Moriah to be sacrificed. He was willing to lay down that which was most precious to him in obedience and love. Love means there is nothing held back, and God tested Abraham’s devotion by asking for that which mattered most to him. The Father would never have allowed Abraham to sacrifice a human being, but it painted a picture of One who was to come. The moment before Abraham made the sacrifice, an angel called out his name. Genesis 22:13-14 says,
“Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So, Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”’
God provided a ram for sacrifice on that day, but the greatest provision came in the form of the spotless lamb of God thousands of years later. Jesus demonstrated the love of the Father in His life – in the compassion, truth, miracles, and provision. However, it was His sacrifice that fully showed the Father’s love for all of humanity.
John 19:1-5 says,
‘Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So, Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.’
The ram caught in the thorns by its head was sacrificed in place of Isaac and Jesus bearing a crown of thorns, laying down His life for every human being that would ever live. It was His sacrifice that demonstrated love. Look at just a few verses regarding the power of sacrifice.
John 15:13 says,
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
Romans 5:8 says,
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
John 3:16 says,
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Isaiah 53:2-5 is a Messianic prophecy that foretold what Jesus would do for mankind. It says,
“For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely, he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”
Jesus took our punishment so we could have peace.
Jesus bore our sickness so we could be healed.
Jesus carried our grief so we could know joy.
He was abused and rejected, broken and afflicted, so we could be loved, accepted, and healed.
Love is sacrifice. It’s not an emotion or a token. We have to understand that our love should be no different. Jesus is the example of love we have been given, and His heart is that we would love in the same way. If our love is not sacrificial then it’s selfish. Galatians 2:20 says,
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
1 John 3:16 captures this truth saying,
“By this we know love, that He laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”
Romans 12:1 says,
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Ephesians 5:2 says,
“Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
We can only love because God has first loved us. We know freedom, hope, joy, and peace because of the sacrifice of Jesus. There is no greater love than that which was poured out from the Father’s heart on the cross. Abraham saw His day and rejoiced because there was a Son coming who would lay down His life so we could come to the Father, forgiven and unhindered.
That love will motivate us to pour our lives out for those He loves. He will so fill us with His
love that we can’t do anything but give it away. Only His love has the power to change our hearts and the world. This week, I encourage you to encounter love, not in a token or an idea, but in the heart of the Father in the face of Jesus Christ, by His Holy Spirit. His sacrifice was for you, and He waits to fill you with love that surpasses understanding! Be filled this week! There is nothing greater.
The greatest demonstration of love is not a token, but sacrifice. Jesus is the greatest picture of love we could ever know, and the power of that truth is a thread throughout the Bible.
Jesus said that Abraham, who preceded Him by thousands of years, saw His day and rejoiced (John 8:56). We don’t know all that Abraham saw. He may have seen the miracles and power of Jesus, but we know with certainty that he saw the power of Jesus’ sacrifice.
In Genesis 22, Abraham obeyed the voice of the Lord and took Isaac – his only son and the son of promise – to the top of Mount Moriah to be sacrificed. He was willing to lay down that which was most precious to him in obedience and love. Love means there is nothing held back, and God tested Abraham’s devotion by asking for that which mattered most to him. The Father would never have allowed Abraham to sacrifice a human being, but it painted a picture of One who was to come. The moment before Abraham made the sacrifice, an angel called out his name. Genesis 22:13-14 says,
“Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So, Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”’
God provided a ram for sacrifice on that day, but the greatest provision came in the form of the spotless lamb of God thousands of years later. Jesus demonstrated the love of the Father in His life – in the compassion, truth, miracles, and provision. However, it was His sacrifice that fully showed the Father’s love for all of humanity.
John 19:1-5 says,
‘Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So, Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.’
The ram caught in the thorns by its head was sacrificed in place of Isaac and Jesus bearing a crown of thorns, laying down His life for every human being that would ever live. It was His sacrifice that demonstrated love. Look at just a few verses regarding the power of sacrifice.
John 15:13 says,
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
Romans 5:8 says,
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
John 3:16 says,
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Isaiah 53:2-5 is a Messianic prophecy that foretold what Jesus would do for mankind. It says,
“For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely, he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”
Jesus took our punishment so we could have peace.
Jesus bore our sickness so we could be healed.
Jesus carried our grief so we could know joy.
He was abused and rejected, broken and afflicted, so we could be loved, accepted, and healed.
Love is sacrifice. It’s not an emotion or a token. We have to understand that our love should be no different. Jesus is the example of love we have been given, and His heart is that we would love in the same way. If our love is not sacrificial then it’s selfish. Galatians 2:20 says,
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
1 John 3:16 captures this truth saying,
“By this we know love, that He laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”
Romans 12:1 says,
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Ephesians 5:2 says,
“Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
We can only love because God has first loved us. We know freedom, hope, joy, and peace because of the sacrifice of Jesus. There is no greater love than that which was poured out from the Father’s heart on the cross. Abraham saw His day and rejoiced because there was a Son coming who would lay down His life so we could come to the Father, forgiven and unhindered.
That love will motivate us to pour our lives out for those He loves. He will so fill us with His
love that we can’t do anything but give it away. Only His love has the power to change our hearts and the world. This week, I encourage you to encounter love, not in a token or an idea, but in the heart of the Father in the face of Jesus Christ, by His Holy Spirit. His sacrifice was for you, and He waits to fill you with love that surpasses understanding! Be filled this week! There is nothing greater.
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