God’s love for us is unconditional and unchanging.
“Then the world will know that you [God the Father] sent me [Jesus Christ] and will understand that you love them as much as you love me” (John 17:23, NLT).
Did you catch that? God loves you as much as He loves Jesus! That’s almost too much to comprehend!
Scripture records that God’s love “never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]” (1 Corinthians 13:8, AMP). His love for you can never weaken. It's impossible. His love for you isn’t based on your behavior but on His faithfulness.
God’s love for us is so all-encompassing that we simply cannot comprehend its scope.
“For God so loved the world [you and me] that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Why did God give Jesus? The answer is simple: to purchase us back. Our forefather Adam gave himself, and consequently all his offspring (including you and me), to a new lord when he heeded Satan. Adam disobeyed God and separated himself and his descendants from Him. But since God loved each of us so much, He wasn’t willing to assign us the same fate as Satan and his angels.
God purchased our relationship back with Him by giving Jesus in our place. Jesus paid the complete price for mankind's disobedience to God. He took our judgment.
The price of our soul is so expensive that nothing else could have bought us back besides Jesus Himself. “God bought you with a high price” (1 Corinthians 6:20, NLT). “He purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son” (Ephesians 1:7, NLT).
No person or thing is more valuable to God than Jesus. Yet, God saw our value equal to that of what He prized most.
Now here is the amazing fact: If you and I had been worth one cent less to God than the value of His Son, He wouldn't have purchased us because God would never make an unprofitable deal. (Recall the above scripture, “God bought you with a high price.”) A bad purchase is when you give something of more value for something of less value.
In God’s eyes, Jesus’ value is the same as yours! Do you see how important you are to God? This is why Jesus prays, “You love them as much as you love me” (John 17:23, NLT).
