For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake. Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory. ‭1 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭18-21‬ NLT

One of the things I love about God is that he always makes it personal. Salvation isn’t just salvation. It’s MY salvation. It’s YOUR salvation. 

God’s plan to save  humanity isn’t some financial formula or theoretical idea. It’s blood and sacrifice. And not just anyone’s blood, not just anyone’s sacrifice. It’s his own son’s blood. It is his own son’s sacrifice. 

It’s painful and it’s intimate. It strikes at God’s own heart. 

I love that Andrew Peterson sings, “isn’t it love, to look down from the sky, to see your only son on the cross asking ‘why?,’ and somehow let him die that way and not call the whole thing off?” (Isn’t it Love, LIVE)

So…why didn’t God call the whole thing off? Because of love. Because of a deeply felt, personal love for you and for me and for everyone who has lived and who will live. 

Because you matter and because I matter, personally, to God. Enough that the pain of Jesus’ death was a worthwhile price to pay. 

Sometimes, that completely overwhelms me. I literally lose my ability to speak or write articulately about it. I, who communicates for a living, am left with no words. Just the slow drop of tears and a profound gratitude. Tonight is one of those nights. 

So, thank you, God. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Holy Spirit. 

For making it personal.