In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
One of the profound truths about Christmas is that it reminds us that God loved us first. God sending His Son wasn't a response to our loving and seeking Him. It was the initiation to us loving and seeking Him.
Our celebration of Christmas is ultimately a celebration of the fact that God pursued us long before we ever pursued Him.
John says that this is the true love of God. The highest being in the universe chose to place His affection on us and to do whatever it took to make us His own.
Our celebration of Christmas is ultimately a celebration of the fact that God pursued us long before we ever pursued Him.
What an incredible thought! God's love is not just about doing stuff for us but about bringing us to Himself. There is no greater joy, satisfaction, and peace than that which comes from belonging to God.
But this verse goes even further explaining the lengths and depths of God's pursuing love. God sent His Son to be the propitiation of our sins. Propitiation means that Jesus satisfied the wrath of God.
Every sinful action, every sinful thought, every misused word, every single sin is an offense against God that stores up wrath or judgment. In order to make us His own, God removed the greatest barrier at the greatest cost to Himself. Jesus Christ came to satisfy the wrath of God that we could be made righteous.
This is love, not that the guilty, broken people wanted God, but that He wanted them and gave His everything to call them His own. There is no greater story than the gospel.