God’s Love is Personal

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16


This past Sunday at His Place was a continuation of a new series on God’s love.
It was week two as a matter of fact.
We were taught seven foundational aspects of the love of God.
I would like to look at one of those today.
The love of God is personal.
Now, personal used in this regard is defined as: “done in person or by oneself
without the use of another person or outside agency.”
Our verse today, perhaps one of the most familiar in all of scripture, tells us that

God gave “…His one and only Son…”
We are told in another part of the Bible that God became flesh.
God hung on the tree for you and me.
When it came to expressing His love, there was no substitution on the part of God.
God died in our place.
You can’t get more personal than that.
Could the Creator of all things have made something or someone else to die for us?
Sure.
But the foundational truth revealed is that His love is personal.
It was not carried out by a substitute.
He took my place but no one else took His place.
There is an old song that says:
“I should have been crucified.
I should have suffered and died.
I should have hung on the cross in disgrace
But Jesus, Gods’ Son, took my place!”
What is the role of a stunt man or body double in Hollywood?
They are paid to ‘sub’ for the star to avoid that star getting hurt.
The ultimate ‘hurts’ in our lives are sin and its’ resulting separation from God.
God made His love personal.
He ‘stepped in’ to become our substitute on the cross when
the sins of the world were put on Him.
I’ll repeat what I said, you can’t get more personal than that!