The Love of God

Tomorrow is a day we set aside (in theory) to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and I'll talk more about that then, but today I want to remember what He did three days prior.
We think about the death of Jesus and we think about the crown of thorns, the beatings, the stumbling journey up Golgotha, the nails, the spear. We imagine the pain, the suffering, the humiliation. But too often we imagine it from only our human point of view. Jesus was a human being--He did feel the pain, the suffering, the humiliation. But He was much more than that--He was the Son of God. And while Christ hung on that cross, suspended between heaven and earth, He felt the ultimate pain and loss--He experienced, for the first time in eternity past, real seperation from His Father. When our sins were placed upon Jesus, God the Father had to turn His back on His Son. At that moment, Jesus took our Hell. The burden of the cross was great, but the burden of my sins and your sins and the sins of every man, woman and child who has ever lived was infinitely greater. Take all the guilt you've ever felt in your entire life, multiple it by billions...that's what Christ endured for us. And He did it knowing that His Father would forsake Him during that time. How much He loves us! How much do we return that love?