The word “love” is often thrown around loosely. “I love cake!” or “I love that outfit!” My grandmother once told me that I should make certain that when I use the words love or hate that I should mean it. That stuck with me. It seems like love is in short supply and no one seems to really understand its meaning. Happiness is confused with love, Lust is confused with love. Love is seemingly “confused” in general. Whether or not you believe in God, the story is actually a good lesson on how love should be. Often the world puts conditions on love, the only time I have read that Jes,us put a condition on it (I stand to be corrected) is when He asked Peter if he loved Him and that if He loved Him, then Peter should feed His sheep. Meaning, that if Peter loved Jesus He would teach people about Him. This story is completely from my imagination, but I think the heart of it is true, and if any sheep were hungry perhaps they could chew on it for awhile.

A figure was walking in a beautiful garden, the birds were chirping happily and the brook was swishing over the rocks. It was an absolutely beautiful spot, He had been there before, even though this was paradise, He had a heavy heart. From far away His son noticed His fallen expression and went out to meet Him by a large and expansive tree. They sat down in the shade and began to talk.

“Father, why do you look so forlorn?” the son asked His Father. “Is it the humans again?”

The Father managing to lift the corners of His mouth into a thoughtful smile replied, “Yes, Jesus. I have been walking and reminiscing of the time when Adam, Eve and I would walk together in this beautiful place. I do miss those days.”

There was silence for a few moments and then Jesus inquired “Can’t you just make them be good? That would fix the problem, and we could get back to normal.”

The Father’s response was quick, ” No, Jesus. It is very important that they keep their free will. Really, the best outcome is if they would chose with their free will to be my companion. The good news is that some have, the bad news is that I don’t think they are truly capable of understanding how much I love them, and what I am willing to do for them. It really is very sad.” After a long pause He continued, “I gave them paradise; they messed it up, I gave them rules to follow; they couldn’t follow them. It really is too bad.”

The Son meditating on His Father’s words sat for awhile. What could help this situation? Is there anything I can do? Breaking the silence Jesus said, “What if I could go down there and show them what to do? Do you think that would help?”

The Father looked at His Son, His heart was full, He loved Him so much. “I love that you would like to help, While that might work for some, I have told them before that the wages for sin is death. That is why the are required to sacrifice, I really can’t go back on that. Once a boundary has been set, I can’t change it. my Word has to mean something. It can’t be undone.”

“Father, what if I faced death in their place, would that get us around that? One sacrifice, once and for all?”

The Father sat there staring at His beloved Son, measuring His response. “That would be a very difficult path for you. Humans have powerful emotions like fear, and greed and anger. You would have to feel all these unfamiliar things and yet keep the law perfectly. While I would be with You, it wouldn’t be like here where we can speak together and I can give You counsel. You would have to pray like everyone else. Are you sure this is something You are really willing to do?”

Without hesitation, Jesus made His response known. “Father, if it pleases You to love these people. I will do what pleases You. I use my will, to choose Your will.”

“There is no greater display of love than to lay down Your life for them, I am very well pleased with You. So let it be.”

There they sat together underneath the beautiful tree. Enjoying they moments they had together before they put their plan into action, knowing that while it would be a difficult path in the short term, that eternity was much more important.