"He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
1 John 4:10
I heard a preacher tell the story of a mother whose hands had been burnt and scarred. She sought to keep them covered as much as possible. As her daughter grew older, she was embarrassed about her mother's unsightly hands. The mother had never told her the complete story about her hands. One day, the daughter confessed that the mother's hands embarrassed her in front of her friends. On that occasion, the mother told her young daughter the whole story. She said, "I never want to embarrass you in front of your friends. You need to know that I saved you from a fire as a baby. Please remember, when you see my hands, that's how much I love you. I would do it again for you."
We can see God's love for us as sinners in the nail-scarred hands of His Son. He did it for us, as a propitiation or atoning sacrifice for our sins. He tells us how much that He loves us in the Bible. He shows us the proof of love in His hands. Someone wrote, "Love talked about is easily ignored, but love demonstrated is irresistible." As believers, we understand the sacrifice of God through His Son, finding His love irresistible. We want every one to know how God loves them.
God's covenant love for His believing children holds nothing back. In Bible days, if you made a covenant with another person, it meant all he had was yours. Likewise, all you had was his. There was no holding back. This is like the covenant of marriage. Covenant love is a love that gives all. God's love has given us all through His Son. "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32). That's how God loves you.
God, we believe and receive Your love.
