How much love does it take?

When my kids were still little enough to believe in the literal existence of Pokemon, we used to play a great bedtime game. I would start by saying "I love you from here to the moon!" Their job would then be to top this statement with a superior geographical comparison. So they would typically respond with "I love you to the moon and back!" Then of course it was my turn - "I love you to the moon and back and around the world three times!" We would go back and forth with this exchange until one of them gave up or we ran out of space in the universe. Or sometimes because it was way past bedtime, I would have to pull out the ultimate phrase: "I love you...infinity!" What I meant, of course, was that as their father, there is no limit to my love for them. I cannot imagine loving them more, or that love ever stopping, and I wanted them to know that. So when I would say the word "infinity", I would stretch out my arms as wide as they would go to show them how serious I was about that statement. Where did I get the idea to do that? From something I read a long, long time ago that I will never forget. It goes like this: I asked Jesus how much He loved me He answered "this much" Then He stretched out His arms and died for me. Jesus stretched out His arms so wicked people could nail Him to a cross. That's how much He loves us. He stretched out His arms to take on the sins of the entire world. That's how much He loves us. He stretched out His arms so His blood could be spilled as a sacrifice. That's how much He loves us. He stretched out His arms so we wouldn't have to. That's how much He loves us. The Cross of Christ is the clearest, loudest, most powerful "I love you . . . infinity!" ever proclaimed. If you are anything like me, whenever you think about the Cross and the love that Jesus showed, one word keeps popping into your head. "Why?" Why would He willingly face the most agonizing and unbearable scenario ever invented? Because it wasn't. Believe it or not, there was an alternative scenario that Jesus was unwilling to face. It's a scenario where He is separated from the ones He loves. It is a circumstance where, because of our choices, we have no choice but to spend an eternity in a place called hell. And that's the scenario Jesus would not allow to happen. Our evil sins against a holy God broke our relationship with Him, and no earthly plan could ever fix it. Which is why Jesus left heaven and took on flesh as a human. In order to pay the price for our sins, He had to give up His life. Think about it - Jesus chose death over living life without you. Here's the way the Bible describes it: When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, no one is likely to die for a good person, though someone might be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God's judgment. For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God--all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God. (Romans 5:6-11)