"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

As a boy raised in the mountains of East Tennessee, when someone heard something that was almost beyond belief or they wanted to emphasize a point that they were trying to make, they would preface the statement with, "It's a wonder." A soldier after describing the devastation in the World War might say, "It's a wonder any of us got home." A motorist giving the details of an accident might say, "It's a wonder that somebody wasn't killed." This phraseology continues to surface in my heart as I read this passage of Scripture, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). While I know it to be true, the great depth of this divine truth causes me to say, "It's a wonder." While the sheer magnitude of the fathomless and measureless love of God yield endless possibilities of study, I want to allow the text to naturally fall into three parts. Though futile the goal, each part will help bring us closer to our quest for a full knowledge and complete understanding of the love of God. When considering the love of God, it's a wonder because:

(I) It Defies Human Comprehension - "But God commendeth his love"
In order to comprehend what God did, you must look at verse 7 and see what man would do. The basic question of verse 7 is "What would one man do for another man in an effort to save the other man?" The phraseology of the text reveals that it would be very difficult and it would require much work to get someone to die for "a righteous man." This is an individual that is equitable in character and act thus making them innocent and holy. You might find someone that would die for them, but it would be difficult to find them! When it comes to an individual classified as "a good man", humanly speaking it would be almost impossible to find someone that would venture or have enough courage to die for that man. Yet when man would not die for the best of the best, God laid down His life for those that did not make the first cut, or even the second cut of those worth saving! When man stepped out of the picture God stepped in to give His life a ransom for the "whosoever wills" of the human race. That defies human comprehension!

(II) It Defies Human Compassion - "toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners"
The motivating force that causes one person to take the place of another so that the other person might have life is compassion. A mother will run into a burning building for her suckling child. That falls within human reasoning. An unarmed man will fight to the death to protect his family from the dangers and harm of an intruder. We all understand that kind of sacrifice. But, what about the compassion that caused God to act on behalf of man? There is the magnitude of compassion, "commendeth his love." Man was introduced favorably to the love of God as God exhibited His love for man. That love was unlike any love man had ever known. It is known as "agape love." It is an affection and benevolence that is described as the feast of charity. It is the highest and noblest of all forms of love and can only be attributed to God Himself! To whom was this love directed? In the text there are the men of compassion, "while we were yet sinners." God exhibited His love toward us before we ever experienced His transforming love "Sinner" is what we were when the love of God found us! Upon considering the standards and righteous of a holy God, we had missed the mark, therefore we were not to share in the prize. We had erred and were hopelessly lost! Yet compassion beyond that of mortal man rescued us. God acting in our behalf defies human compassion!

(III) It Defies Human Cost - "Christ died for us."
Bound beneath the burden of sin and the condemnation of a Holy God, man found himself confronted with death. Not just physical death and spiritual death, but eternal death also known as the "second death." "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:14-15). If man were to escape, someone must pay the cost to free him! It is at this precise point the we see the person, "Christ died for us." Man was incapable of paying his own debt much less the debt of another. Old Testament sacrifices had only held back the wrath until the perfect sacrifice was found. "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins" (Hebrews 10:4). Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, the writer of Hebrews said, "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God" (Hebrews 10:12). It was Christ the anointed One, the Messiah that came to man's aid. There was the price, "died for us." God "only begotten Son" took mans place and was made a sacrifice for sin. "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:8). What man would not do and could not do, Christ in love did! That defies human cost!

If is difficult for humanity to accept anything they are unable to explain or understand. The love of God is one of those things. It must simply be embraced and accepted by faith. It has and will forever defy human comprehension, human compassion, and human cost. Look at it from every angle and we are left with these words, "It's a wonder!"