When I was growing up as a child and got into trouble while my dad was at work, my mother would sometimes tell me, "go into your room and wait there until your father gets home." Boy that was a long agonizing wait. I usually found my self running different versions of the crime through my mind to determine how I might get off with a lesser punishment. One time I even stuck magazines in my britches. There was no question I was going to get it, it was just a mater of, how bad was it going to be.
When dad got home I could always hear him and mom talking before he came in to deal with me - and he always gave me a chance to tell my side of the event. But it usually ended with those famous words, "I have to punish you now son and this is going to hurt me more than it is going to hurt you." I never understood that until I became a dad. Inflecting pain on your own child for a greater purpose never feels right when your doing it.
Can you imagine how God must have felt? Our heavenly Father sending His Son to be punished for the sins of all mankind. Jesus suffered and died the death of the cross, the most painful, agonizing death imaginable. Why? Why allow it? For a greater purpose - the redemption of all mankind.
The Truth
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
