But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
Romans 5:8 (New Living Translation)
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Because God is Holy, He separates Himself from people because of human sinfulness. How then can we communicate with God if we are sinners.
In the Old Testament, only one person was allowed in the holiest part of the tabernacle. A sanctified priest was permitted to enter once each year to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat. He did this to make atonement for the sins of the people in the presence of a holy God. In this way, God’s people were made to see how much God hated their sin.
In present times, God has provided us a way to come into His holy presence through atonement provide by His son, Jesus Christ who was the sacrificial lamb, paying for our sin with His life. It is the ultimate act of love.
How could He love us so much?
God is Love, and His love is very different from human love. God’s love is unconditional, and it’s not based on feelings or emotions. He doesn’t love us because we’re lovable or because we make Him feel good; He loves us because He is love. He created us to have a loving relationship with Him, and He sacrificed His own Son (who also willingly died for us) to restore that relationship.
God is the Creator of all things, and by His very nature, He is love. God says love is unconditional and sacrificial, and it’s not based on feelings; therefore, love is not an “intense affection… based on familial or personal ties”. To understand what true love is and to be able to truly love others, we must know God, and we can do this through a close personal relationship with Him. We can have that close relationship with God by putting our faith in Jesus Christ, who was God’s sacrifice of love for us.