It Was For Me

{A post by Yours Truly}

Many, many years ago, a tiny cry was heard echoing against rough stone walls. A baby's cry, an infant barely hours old, innocent, tiny, and fragile. His mother shushed him gently, wrapping him as warmly as she could in a small, thin cloth. Nearby, the father kept a steady watch, his gaze claimed by a bright light streaming from the heavens. A cold wind whipped about him, chilling the air and dancing across the furry noses of the animals present. Yet, the mother saw and felt none of this. Her whole being was wrapped up in the wonder of the small bundle she held in her arms, the son she had been promised.

It was thirty-three years later that the same mother looked once again on the face of the son that had been given her, yet this time the wonder of the miracle was gone. In its place on her face stood pain and sorrow as she beheld him, bent and bloody, nailed to a rough piece of wood standing on a hill. For all to see and jeer at. For all to mock and spit upon. Her tears were bitter, wishing to spare him from his suffering, yet she knew there was nothing she could do. He had taken upon himself the pain he now bore, and it was of his own free will that his blood ran like water onto the ground. He could have walked away; this she knew. But he had chosen to die in such a manner, to accept the punishment that was so justly deserved by others. He had done nothing, and yet he was killed as if he was the most despicable criminal. 

I'm sure that many of you know the story I'm trying to relate, and those that do know how it ends. The Son that was given did die, His blood was shed, He bore the cruelest of sufferings, but He did not stay dead. The Almighty God raised Him from the dead three days later, and now the Son sits on God's right hand. That Son was Jesus Christ. God sent Him to earth to bear the sins of the world, and Christ came as a spotless sacrifice, One equal with God in the splendor of Heaven who denied His own comforts to live as a man. He did no evil, yet the earth despised Him, and so He was beaten and nailed to a cross. 

But the world knew not what it did, for in His death, Jesus made possible a way of salvation. The people of this world are sinful, and their sin is something God cannot look upon; and because of their sin, they must be cast out into darkness. Yet, through the sacrifice that was the death of the perfect Son of God, there can be redemption. The blood of Jesus can cover the sins of any who ask, and He waits now to offer His holy robes for the sin-spotted garments of those who seek His face.

But what does this have to do with true love, you ask? How can this possibly be relevant to Valentine's Day?

For the Dear Love party this week, I presented a number of guest posts on the topic of love. We've read about the importance of following God, the blessing of praying for your future husband, the joy of being content in our current situation, and so much more. Even though some of us may long for husbands, houses, and families right now, we are striving to sacrifice those desires to become the godly girls that God wants us to be before all of that. And that's what true love is: sacrifice. True loves sees not its own wants, but the needs of others. True love is a desire to be of use to those loved, with no thought of recompense. 

But no man can love you more than Jesus Christ. He paid the ultimate sacrifice for us. By giving His life for us, He gave us a chance for salvation. He had no thought for Himself, yet He loved you so much that He was willing to die so that you could receive all the benefit. He died so that you might live. 

And that's true love. 

It was for me He died, for me, He cried.

For me He shed His blood upon the tree.

It was for me He came, for me, His shame.

For me, oh praise His name, it was for me.

God bless!