Love and Death

 

Photo of Michelangelo's Pieta by Torbjorn Toby Jorgensen

For the first time in decades, Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday fell on the same date this year. One holiday celebrates love, while the other reflects on death. The Catholic ritual of wearing ashes in the shape of a cross on the forehead symbolizes the human condition as sinners doomed to eternal death in hell, were it not for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary’s cross (Romans 6:23).

Ash Wednesday thus marks the beginning of Lent, a time of reflection on Christ’s finished work on the cross (John 19:30) and on sinners’ unworthiness (Romans 3:12), based on their own merit (Ephesians 2:8-9), to receive His freely given gift of eternal life. Lent ends on Easter Sunday, commemorating Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead, and the triumph of God, Who is Love (1 John 4:8), over death. Praise God that through the righteousness of Christ credited to the account of all believers (Romans 4:16-24), He no longer remembers our sin and frees us from its penalty of death (Hebrews 8:12; 10:17).

The perfect, sinless, Lamb of God (John 1:29) – God the Son – came to earth in human form (John 1:14) specifically to die. His death was excruciating, marked by the physical suffering of crucifixion, the emotional isolation from His friends and disciples who betrayed (Luke 22:3-4;34) and abandoned Him, and the humiliation of being rejected, mocked, and mistreated by His people whom he came to save (John 1:11; Luke 23:20-23).

Worst of all, He had to be momentarily separated from the God the Father (Matthew 27:46), with Whom He had been present in close fellowship and love since before the beginning of time (John 1:1-2), as holy God could not look on our sin, which Christ became to save us (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Yet this horrific death was motivated by self-sacrificing love. There is no greater love than to die for others (John 15:13). Christ’s death was the very definition of love, for it was the perfect sacrifice to appease the anger of holy God and to reconcile sinful man to Him (1 John 4:10).

Christ died for us while we were not only sinners (Romans 5:8), but children of the devil (John 8:44) and His enemies, rebelling against Him in anger and hatred. His inspiration to endure this agony was the joy that came from knowing that all who trusted in His sacrifice and resurrection would live forever with Him in Heaven (Hebrews 12:2).

God the Father loved the world so much that He was willing to submit His precious Son to this torturous death (John 3:16). God’s love is unfathomable by our mere human minds. We might be willing to take a bullet for our spouse or child, and our brave troops and first responders daily risk their lives to protect our country and communities. We might sacrifice ourselves for a good person, but for an evil, hateful one? (John 8:44)

So how can we begin to comprehend how the Divine Godhead, in need of nothing (Psalm 50:10-12), Creator of all (Genesis 1:1), with infinite power (Jeremiah 27:5), riches and wisdom (Psalm 139:1-6), could love us infinitely? We who are vile, lowly sinners, made from dust and destined to return to ashes? (Genesis 2:7;3:19).

Appropriately enough, the ashes used on Ash Wednesday come from palm fronds burned after the previous year’s Palm Sunday service. It is a sad reminder to be careful lest we fall (1 Corinthians 10:12), for the very people who loudly praised Jesus, crying Hosanna and waving palm branches on His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, were the same who cried out for His death on the cross a few days later.

Through His supreme sacrifice He changed all who would believe in Him into a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). By trusting Christ we are transformed from His enemies to His friends (Proverbs 18:24), from children of the devil to God’s children, becoming joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:14-17) in eternal life, peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7), joy in His salvation (Psalm 35:9), wisdom through the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), and all the blessings of Heaven.

Beyond that, His death allowed His love to make us His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), given the unique privilege, honor and blessing of being able to share the Good News of His love, death, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-5) as the only Way (John 14:6) to Heaven. At the moment we trust Him, we become part of His church, or beautiful bride that one day will unite with Him in sinless, holy perfection (Revelation 21:2).

Once we experience the transformation His love and death allow, love and death take on a new meaning for us. We love Him because He first loved us, and He is love itself (1 John 4:8,19). His love is infinite, while ours is still tainted by the curse of sin, stained with selfishness and pride. Yet as He daily molds us into His image (Romans 8:29), often through suffering (Philippians 3:10), our love can also begin to reflect His self-sacrificial agape love, which we can share with others to bring them closer to Him.

For the Christian, death loses its sting (1 Corinthians 15:55), for it no longer represents eternal punishment in hell, but a momentary transition from the burden of this aging and infirm body to the freedom and joy of being in the presence of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:6-8). When we lose loved ones in Him, we have the sure hope that we will one day be reunited. Yet while we are still on earth, we must die daily (1 Corinthians 15:31) to our sin nature, to the corruption of the world (Romans 12:1-2), to the temptations of the flesh (Romans 8:6-7), and to the traps set for us by Satan (Ephesians 6:11).

I chose the Pieta, the renowned sculpture by Michelangelo, to illustrate this post, as it so poignantly communicates the love of a mother for her dying Son, of a sinner for her Savior, of the Son to die for the sins of the world, of the Father to give His Son, and of the Spirit to raise the Son from the dead, that all who trust Him would have everlasting life.

As we reflect on Christ’s death, burial and resurrection this Easter season, may we let His love shine through us to bring others closer to Him!   

© 2024 Laurie Collett