Several years ago, Dr. Pepper ran a commercial featuring a young man demonstrating the extent of his love for a young lady through several undesirable actions. In the first scene, he feels the embarrassment of picking up “unmentionables” from the store. In the next, he suffers the folding of her laundry at the laundromat. After the laundromat, he found himself bent in various uncomfortable positions as he accompanied her to yoga class. Later, he endured sitting outside the fitting room as she tried on clothes, and then he exposed himself to the pouring rain as his outstretched arm kept her dry with an umbrella.
Throughout all of these scenes, the song “I Will Do Anything for Love” by Meatloaf grew in intensity as the commercial moved toward the climax of the 30-second story. The final scene shows the young man holding the young lady while they finished their day watching a movie. At some point in the movie, the young lady reached over for the ice-cold Dr. Pepper in the young man’s hand. Dramatically, the young man retrieved his cherished Dr. Pepper, abandoned his girlfriend on the couch, stormed out the front door, and ran away down the street. As the song famously says, he was willing to do anything for love, but he could not do that! His love for her led him to willingly endure much for her sake, but his love had a limit. He would not give up his Dr. Pepper.
In John 3:16, we learn that God loved the world so much that “He gave His only Son.” To better understand the weight of this statement, we must consider God’s affection for the Son. “The Father loves the Son!” (Jn. 3:35). Jesus was and is beloved by God the Father, and it is in Jesus that the Father finds great pleasure (Matt. 3:16-17). As a loving father delights in his children, so God the Father experiences great joy and delight in Christ. Christ makes God’s heart happy and His face smile. The oneness, love, and delight between God the Father and the Son have no comparison. The Father loved Christ. The Father delighted in Christ. The Father was united to Christ.
Amazingly, the Father gave His beloved Son for the world. If there was ever a moment in which God’s love for the world reached a limit, it would have been the requirement of His Son’s life. If ever God would have said, “No, I will not do that!” it would have been to spare the Son in whom His soul delights.
Thankfully, we read in the gospel that God “did not spare His own Son” (Rom. 8:32). How much does God love the world? He loved all of humanity so much that He did not spare His beloved. He gave that in which He found infinite joy, delight, and pleasure.
Since God did not spare His own Son, you can be confident His love for you has no limits. You can be sure that God will “graciously give [those who believe in Christ] all things” (Rom. 8:32). If He did not spare His own Son, you can be sure that there is absolutely nothing else that can separate you from His love (Rom. 8:33–39).
Consider your relationships. Have you ever felt the burden or pressure to earn or maintain the love of a friend, spouse, or parent? Have you ever walked in fear that someone close may walk away from you? For those who know the glory of God’s love, this type of fear-driven performance-based attempt to keep or maintain God’s love is irrational and illogical. God does not demonstrate deeper degrees of His love as our relationship with Him deepens. No, He lays as the foundation of our relationship with Him the greatest possible demonstration of His love by giving His Son. Those who doubt the steadfastness of God’s love need only to look at the cross where the Son of God died. Surely, if God loves you enough to give His Son, there is no limit to His love toward those who believe.
— Daniel Barta is a pastor at Christ Fellowship Northwest, Greenville.