Extravagant Love

Romans 8 v38 (NIV) 

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present or the future nor any powers neither height or depth nor anything in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.”  

There have been many heroic and devastating stories told by some of the survivors of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the twin towers in New York 20 years ago. It has been inspiring to hear of incredible selfless acts of bravery. I was particularly touched by the story of the fourth hijacked plane which had been slower to leave and was probably heading towards the White House, or the US Capitol building, to cause a similar catastrophic damage. Some of the crew and passengers were able to see the news of the first plane’s target on their phones; they began phoning loved ones to say their goodbyes. Some of the crew and passengers decided that, as they were certainly going to die, they could stop hundreds of others also losing their lives. Using the service trollies, they rammed the cockpit door down - the plane went out of control and crashed into a field in Philadelphia killing everyone on board. 

This action of being prepared to die to save others is the overwhelming sacrifice we see in Jesus. He gave up his life to be horrifically crucified so that we would always have a close relationship with God. All our sins were taken on his shoulders. This has to be the most extravagant love. When times are difficult, and we are tempted to wonder if God really loves us or cares about our situation, it is good to remember Jesus’s extravagant love for us. 

Prayer — We are so grateful for your extravagant love for us that led Jesus to make the ultimate sacrifice to die on the cross to save us.