Love Is Expressive and It Is Costly!

12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends". Jesus Christ in John 15:12-13

When you truly love someone, you express that love with nothing less than a wholehearted commitment. When Jesus wanted to demonstrate his love for humanity, He did it by suffering an excruciating death on a cross. He laid down his life to set us free from our sins. His love was expressive and it was costly!

Why do I love Jesus Christ so much? I love Him because He first loved me and He proved his love for me like no other person in history. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us". Wow! It’s not like I was a nice guy when Jesus died for me. No, I was a sinner! However, He loved me so much He still chose to painfully demonstrate his love for me. Love is expressive and it is costly!

When I was ready to ask Cindy to marry me, I wanted to verify how much I was in love with her. I knew I couldn’t ask her to marry me without giving her a ring to put on her finger. So, I began my search for the perfect ring. During my search, I never once thought about going to the grocery store gumball machine in hopes that my quarter would reward me with a candy ring to give to my future wife. Instead, I took most of my life savings to an expensive jeweler in town and purchased a beautiful diamond ring. I could not ask her to marry me empty handed. Love is expressive and it is costly!

After putting the ring on her finger, I told Cindy how much I loved her and how I was making a commitment to give her my best for the rest of our lives. I would have never given her the ring and told her these words if I did not know for certain that she was wholeheartedly committed to me.

A wholehearted commitment to love demands an equal response in return. Just as I expected Cindy to love me back in return for loving her, Jesus expects us to love Him the same way He loves us. That is why He gave us the Great Commandment in Matthew 22:37. It says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Love is expressive and it is costly!

Since Jesus fully demonstrated his unwavering love for us on the cross, He can require the same love in return from all those who desire to be in relationship with Him. Instructing people to obey the Great Commandment would not only be disingenuous, but also unjust if Jesus didn’t first prove His love for us.

True love gives everything and requires everything in return. Nobody has ever made this more evident than Jesus Christ, and nobody deserves the best of our love more than Him. His love for us is expressive and it is costly! Our love for Him should also be expressive and it should be costly!