So, we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ( 1 John 4:16)
A certain medieval monk announced he would be preaching on "The Love of God." The following Sunday evening, as the shadows fell and the sunlight faded, the congregation gathered. In the darkness, the monk lighted a candle and carried it to the crucifix. He first illumined the crown of thorns. Then he brought the candlelight to the two wounded hands, then the marks of the spear wound. In the hush that fell in the cathedral, he blew out the candle and left the sanctuary. There was nothing left to say.
God so loved you and me that he sent his One and only Son, Jesus the Christ, to be wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. God demonstrated his love in this, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God is love and Love loved us in a way we could never repay.
When we had turned our backs on his presence, he graciously reconciled us to his side in love. In Christ, our old life of sin has been dealt with and we have become new creations, forgiven and cleansed.
Do you know this love? The wounds Jesus endured in his crucifixion – the beatings, the crown of thorns on his head, the spikes through his hands and feet and the spear in his side – were inflicted because of the sin of the world.
Your sin was ascribed to Jesus on the cross. Though guiltless, Jesus suffered the consequence of sin, which is death, as a proxy for you. When he rose from the dead, Jesus opened the way for you to know God’s grace and be reconciled to him. That’s love. That love is for you.