“Because I Love You”

Ephesians 2:4-5

God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved.

As kids, oftentimes I imagine we would get frustrated with our parents when they tell us to do something. Me being an intellectual, reasonable young child would always want to know “Why?”. And to my frustration the answer typically came back as “Because I said so.” Many of you can relate to this dissatisfaction with that answer. Sometimes as kids we need more reason to follow an order than simply because it was an order. But many times we don’t get an explanation and perform the task only because “they said so.”

The act that Jesus did on the cross is oftentimes one that causes us to ask why. The disciples clearly throughout the gospels questioned why Jesus would have to die. Pilate, as he could find no reason to justify sentencing the Messiah, couldn’t help but respond to Jesus’ humble silence with “Why?”. And even now, as we view the cross with such sadness and guilt, we often find ourselves searching for the reason behind it.

Paul, in Ephesians, answers with a simple but powerful response. “Because of the great love with which He loved us.” He adds that this is what grace is, and it is by it that you are saved. What more do you need? It was part of his plan. It was fulfillment of scripture. It was in keeping with his promise. It was the only way for a broken world to even have a chance at salvation. But Paul gives a simple reason: being rich in mercy and because of His great love God saved us. Christ died for us. We have been made alive. At this answer, I don’t want to find myself needing more reason. I want to find myself in awe and in humble satisfaction and God’s reason for saving me. “Because I love you.”