I’m reading a science fiction / fantasy book at the moment in which an old king creates an intricate plot to try to trap a deadly dangerous enemy. The plot requires the king to allow great damage to his own land in order to lure the enemy into the open, rather than allowing the enemy to conquer the two neighboring kingdoms and attack from a position of strength.
When this plot is revealed to one of the king’s oldest allies, he cries out “Oh brilliant! Destroy your friends to save your enemies! Just brilliantâ€
But of course, that is exactly what God did at the cross: He sent his one and only Son.
God and Jesus had been one in a way we can’t even imagine from before the creation of time. God the Father loved Jesus the Son more than we can imagine. And yet he sent this closest friend to be destroyed (and raised) so that he could save his enemies.
Romans 5:6-10 (NIV) You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
