JOHN 15:13 - EXTRAVAGANT LOVE by Susan Slade

Extravagant Love

By Susan Slade

John 15:13

Greater love hath no man than this,

That a man lay down his life for his friends.

Romans 5:7-8

For scarcely for a righteous man will one die:

yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that,

while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

According to Jesus Himself, the ultimate outpouring of love is to give one’s life for one’s friends. Jesus did more than that. The cross was the focal point of HIStory. In reality, we were Jesus’ enemies, and yet He was willing to die to pay the ransom for the sin of all who would believe for all time. It is incomprehensible that He would do such a selfless act for the disciples He cherished, but He went beyond dying for His friends to die for sinners yet unborn. His love is beyond complete: it is extravagant, unfathomable, and indescribable. He endured the cross on our behalf to transform us into His precious jewels, His treasured possession. He erased our sin in order to adopt us into His forever family, that we could experience Him fully and worship Him eternally.

Have you personally experienced this extravagant outpouring of love? The same God who spoke the world into existence placed Himself into the limitation of human flesh so that He could die on behalf of all who would believe and trust in Him and His sacrificial death on the cross. However, God’s love does not end with Jesus’ death on the cross. On the third day, Jesus rose triumphantly from the dead, left the tomb, and appeared over the course of forty days to more than 500 witnesses. Jesus Christ is ALIVE! If you have not placed your heart in the nail-scarred hands of Jesus, do so today. Then not only will your eternity be secure in Heaven, but you will experience the greatest love of all. If you are already one of the Lord’s forever family treasures, remember what your redemption cost Jesus, and celebrate His love and your freedom from sin. Celebrate the fact that He has transformed you from worthlessness to being His multifaceted jewel, reflecting His image to the world.