This Much More

“I love you, Papa!” his children and grandchildren would often exclaim.

Papa (Marvin Irvin) would often ask, “How much?”

I’m sure that through the years the answers would range from “a whole bunch” to “this much” as a grandchild stretched his or her arms as wide as possible.

But then Papa would hold out his hand and measure an inch or two between his thumb and forefinger and say, “I love you this much more than you love me.”

Meme (Martha Irvin) said that at first their children and grandchildren thought Papa was saying that he only loved them a little bit.  But with tender explanations backed by an abundance of demonstrations of that love throughout his lifetime, they began to fully understand that Papa was saying he loved them more than they loved him.

Truth be told, that love was reciprocated, but the depth of that love has been realized more and more as Papa has gone to be with Jesus. *

The message from Heaven to you and to me is, “I love you.”

As we consider how much we have messed up our lives through our sins, we may wonder how God could love us.

God responds: “I love you because I made you.  I created you in My image (Genesis 1:26-27).

“But God, we have marred that image because of our foolish choices and our sins.”

“I still love you.  In fact…”  Imagine now that God holds out His divine hand measuring an inch or two between His thumb and forefinger, and He says, “I love you this much more than you love Me.”

“God, how much do You love me?” we may ask.

He responds:  “I love you this much.”  And He spread out His arms and died on the cross for you and me.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10).

God loves us so much more that He gave His Son to die on the cross for our sins so that we might be saved from our sins and receive the gift of eternal life (John 3:16).

God will save those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  He will continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7).

God loves us so much more; His love is immeasurable!

Won’t YOU reciprocate that love by surrendering your life in grateful trusting obedience?

-- David A. Sargent

* In loving memory of Marvin “Papa” Irvin (May 27, 1929 – March 16, 2016), a recipient of the love of God who shared that love with his family, his friends, his church family, and all with whom he came in contact.

David A. Sargent, Minister