A few months after the arrival of our little girl, my husband casually mentioned something he had been thinking about during his morning time with the Lord. The quote itself was powerful, but the timing of the quote—as a new mom—made it heartbreaking.
“You’ll never understand how much God loves you until you understand how much God loved Jesus.”
I thought I knew love. I love my parents. I love my brothers. I love my husband. But the way that I love my daughter—the way I feel about that toothless grin and the tiny rolls on her thighs and the way she holds my finger in her wet, chubby fist when she sleeps—is the most overwhelming and terrifying feeling I have ever known. It’s the kind of love that is bone deep. I would do anything and everything in my power to keep her from ever feeling pain or sadness. When she cries, my soul cries. I love her completely and fiercely.
If I’m able to love my daughter that much, even with all of my imperfections, how much did God love Jesus? How much did the perfect Father love the perfect Son?
God was not powerless. He had the power to keep His son from ever feeling pain or sadness. Instead, His soul cried as He saw him being stripped and beaten. As He saw nails pierce his hands. As He saw them spit in his face. He saw His son hang on a cross. And then, He left him.
On the cross, Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The penalty for sin is death – both physical and spiritual. Separation of the spirit from the body (physical) and separation of the spirit from God (spiritual). Since Jesus was taking our punishment, He had to actually experience the agony of separation from His Father for the first time. God didn’t just leave him on the cross, he left him on the cross alone—so that we would never have to be alone.
How can we possibly think that God doesn’t love us? Or, even worse, that He doesn’t love us enough? He left His son on the cross so that nothing could separate us from Him.
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.”
– Romans 8:38-39
Grace Waves 
Love, love love this post. It’s so beautifully written. I don’t think we’ll ever really understand or grasp the depth of God’s love for us. It’s immeasurable.
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This is beautiful!! I remember thinking these kinds of thoughts when my boys were newborns. My heart was bursting with love for them, and I couldn’t even imagine how God the Father must have felt, seeing Jesus as a tiny sweet baby, His Son, and knowing that His mission in life was to die. I could not even imagine looking at my baby and thinking his purpose in life was to grow up and die a sacrificial death. Ugh. No one has ever had it harder than God the Father. Thank you for sharing this beautiful post!
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Wow, you have made such a great point! I have honestly never fully considered the love God had for Jesus in this way, and how painful it had to be. And it is so amazing, the love God has for His people. I really appreciate you sharing this. Truly a God given perspective.
Blessings ❤
Ronnie
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such a beautiful awesome read. It brought tears to my eyes. I never saw it quite this deep before.
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We can never understand the great love of God. All we can do is thank Him daily that he loves us so much. He’s a good good father.
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I’ve noticed several times in the NT that believers are referred to as “beloved.” It’s in a tense that indicates permanency. Since we’re in Christ, beloved by God, so are we. Great comfort.
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