The Standard of God's Love

The cross is the very definition of love:

"Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:10)

Unfortunately, we are often taught to look upon the cross with guilt and shame because of the role our sinful nature played in putting Jesus there. But that couldn't be a more inappropriate response. The cross was a provisionary and self-sacrificing act; one in which God, in His benevolence, met our deepest need. This makes the cross the standard of God's Love.

- p. 24 "Holy Vocabulary" by Michael Kelley