The Human “I Love You” of God

In that moment on the Cross, God’s eternal “I love you” becomes a human “I love you.”

From all eternity, God is love. Before the first star was born, before a single drop of water touched the earth, love already burned—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—an infinite, radiant exchange of life and joy. Creation itself is the overflow of that love. Every heartbeat in the world exists because God said “I love you”, and it became light and life.

Yet the eternal “I love you” can seem distant to human hearts. Infinite glory is hard to grasp for those made of dust. And so the Son of God does the unthinkable: He takes on human flesh. He allows the eternal love of God to beat in a human heart, weep from human eyes, and pour out in human blood.

On the Cross, the infinite becomes intimate. The God who made the galaxies now speaks through the fragile body of a suffering man: “I love you.”

• A torn back speaks love.

• Pierced hands speak love.

• A heaving chest and failing breath speak love.

• Every drop of blood is a word in the language of love.

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

The Crucifixion is the greatest act of love in history because it is both divine and human.

• Divine: the infinite mercy of God reaching down to rescue the world.

• Human: the total, bodily gift of a heart that chooses to suffer and die for its beloved.

The crucifix is the perfect icon of this love. It shows that the eternal “I love you” has entered time, taken on skin, and spoken in a way no heart can ignore. It is love that is infinite and yet personal, eternal and yet spoken in blood.

Let every gaze upon the crucifix become a moment of adoration, awe, and quiet wonder before the greatest love the world will ever know.