A line from a song came to me this morning that always reduces me to tears: “The darling of heaven, crucified.”

Jesus, the darling of heaven. I had never thought of Him that way before hearing Worthy is the Lamb for the first time, never thought about how all of heaven must have mourned when their darling came to earth to be whipped, spit upon and then crucified. For days that phrase kept repeating in my mind… “the darling of heaven, crucified.”

As a grandmother, I know our grandchildren are my darlings─no matter their age, no matter their size. (Strange as it may seem, my big, strapping twenty-five-year-old grandson is just as much my darling as when he was small.) I can’t imagine watching them go through the treatment Jesus experienced. One of my devotional readings today said, “Who do you love most fiercely, most protectively, most desperately here on earth?” (A Little God Time) No secret what my answer would be. One of our grandsons told me recently how surprised he was at how mad I get at referees who aren’t being fair to our team, and especially to our grandchildren!

Somehow thinking of Jesus as “the darling of heaven” sparks a deeper love and appreciation for the One who gave His life for me. I took some of our students to see The Passion of the Christ in Japan and was amazed to see standing-room-only crowds at the theater in the middle of a weekday. Those seated near me were weeping as they watched Jesus’ brutal treatment. When I asked one of the students in my Seminary English class what she thought of the movie, she said, “I want to preach the Gospel!” I wish we all had that reaction when we think about what “the darling of heaven” went through for us.

The rest of the devotional I quoted earlier went on to say, “What would you do for them? Know that it is a mere fraction, nearly immeasurable, of what God would do for you. Spend some time thanking Him for His great love.” What should our response be to the great love of our Father? Perhaps the hymn writer, Isaac Watts, said it best, “Love so amazing so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all” (When I Survey the Wondrous Cross).

Thank you for your great love for us, Father, that sacrificed even the darling of heaven to make a way for us to be your sons and daughters. Enable us to respond to that great love with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Amen.