Column: As Christians, ever praise Him for His loving sacrifice

None of us are capable of truly understanding the nature of God.

Scripture declares God is one, yet He manifests Himself to us in three personalities, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

More than sufficient is the evidence to believe in God, as well as His divinely inspired scriptures. Still, evidence does not equate to understanding. Walk with me for a moment back to Calvary.

As we see the abuse of the Son, it is difficult to understand that He is God. Philippians 2:6 describes Jesus as being equal to God, but was willing to empty Himself to experience humanity. Hebrews 2:17-18 describes Jesus as having become like us and experienced temptation, which is an example of Him emptying Himself, because God cannot be tempted, James 1:13. Again, in Hebrews 5:8 it states that although Jesus was a Son, He learned obedience through suffering.

Now, return to Calvary, Golgotha, the cross. On the cross, Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Jesus is directly quoting Psalm 22:1 which is a messianic prophecy. But, there’s much more to this than just Jesus fulfilling another prophecy. Jesus was crying out in His human experience. 2 Corinthian 5:21 says that God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God.

This is overwhelming! Jesus became the worst of us that we might choose by faith in Him to become the best of Him! We are made holy as He takes on our ungodliness. God is perfectly pure and sinless and cannot be in communion with sin. Jesus became our sin.

When Jesus cried out to God from the cross, He experienced being unwelcome in God’s presence. That had never happened in eternity. Jesus understood Psalm 22:1 and surely knew it well. But, Jesus did not know what it would feel like to not have His Father near Him. He must’ve dreaded that prophecy, feared that experience.

Hell is described as the only place God is not. Death is separation, and spiritual death is separation from God. Jesus chose to experience it so that we wouldn’t have to. May none of us ever know the absence of God. Even the atheist experiences God’s love in the morning sunrise, the gentle rain, and the tugging of the heart. As Christians, let us ever praise Him for His loving sacrifice.

-Tim Nowlin, Ashland Church of Christ

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Thankful for His sacrifice, Christians look to understand the Trinity