Christ Archives - Marissa Henley

Arkansas basketball fans will never forget that night. It’s one of those “I remember where I was when . . .” moments. I was a senior in high school, riding home from an orchestra rehearsal. I listened on the radio as the Arkansas men’s basketball team beat Duke to win the 1994 NCAA National Championship. That year, we stood on solid ground as we raved about our team. It was proven fact: we were the best.

Have you ever read about God’s love for you, but the words felt hollow? Maybe as empty as the boastful claims of a losing team? We sometimes wonder if He really loves us. Our circumstances don’t always appear to reflect His love—at least not the kind of love we would choose!

And yet, God’s Word tells us that God doesn’t just say He loves us. He’s proved it.

“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10)

Here’s how you know God’s love for you: before you ever loved Him, He sent His Son to be the propitiation for your sin. But what is propitiation, and what does it have to do with love?

Propitiation refers to Christ’s turning away God’s wrath from us and taking it on Himself. Christ laid His life over ours like a big shield, taking what we deserve because of our sin. Being our propitiation, our wrath-shield, came at a high price. The sinless One took the punishment our sin deserved. That’s true love.

No matter what you face this week, God proved His love for you in Christ.

What’s your #NoMatterWhatMonday? Join me on Instagram and use the hashtag to remind us all of a truth or a verse that you’re clinging to this week. I’d love to see your #NoMatterWhatMonday!

Don’t you love those teaching moments with your kids when you realize they truly get it? Like when Christopher was 3, and he had heard all about Jesus dying on the cross, but I was there for the moment that he realized that Jesus had risen from the dead . . . “You mean He’s ALIVE?!? HOOORRRAAAYYY!!!” His genuine exuberance brought tears to my eyes.

This morning, I was reading Romans 5 to the kids when we came across these verses:

Romans 5:6-8: For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person–though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die–but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

I asked Christopher–and told him not to answer out loud–what he would do if a bad guy came into our house with a gun and told him that he was going to either kill him or his brother. Who would he choose? It would be a tough choice, wouldn’t it? I told him that I would die for them, because they are my children, and I love them that much. But there aren’t a lot of people I would die for.

Then I asked another question: “What if a bad guy broke into our house and stole all our stuff? He would be our enemy, right? And then what if another bad guy brought that bad guy in and gave you a choice. The second bad guy would either kill you or the guy who stole all your stuff. What do you choose?”

Christopher got excited. He knew the answer to this one. “The bad guy!” he said enthusiastically, “He would definitely have to kill the bad guy, not me!”

The great thing about kids is that they rarely see where the illustration is headed until you lower the boom.

“Christopher, you are the bad guy. That’s what these verses are saying. We are sinners, and we were God’s enemies. But Jesus said to the Father, ‘Kill me, not them.’ He died for us even though we were the bad guys.”

He was speechless, and I was almost in tears. Hit with my own reminder of the unfathomable nature of the Gospel. The crazy, true story in which the perfect, blameless Son of God dies for a bunch of wretched sinners like you and me. The most amazing love story of all.

God Proved His Love for You {No Matter What Monday}

Would you die for a criminal?