“Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (Jn. 15:13) That means there’s no love in the world, no love that you can feel, not a love from a friend, not a love from the spouse that you hope to have, not a love from the acceptance of the world that is greater than this love. There is no love more powerful than the love of the God-man who came and gave his life for you. This is the greatest love.

What do you do with that truth? We’re used to showing up to school, youth group, and church as consumers. We get used to information washing over us. Maybe we have even repeated a prayer and said “yes” to Jesus, but the true story that is being presented to you today demands a real response. We’re talking about God becoming man and dying for your sins. How do you respond to someone who gave their life for you?

Imagine that a guy wants to propose. He’s been dating this girl. He’s so in love with her. Every day he thinks about how he wants to spend the rest of his life with her and to build a life together. He wants to have kids with her and get to heaven with her. Imagine that he’s grinding at work to get the money for the ring, all for that moment when he can put it on her finger when she says yes. Imagine he’s down on one knee and he says, “Will you marry me?” And she says, “Yes, I really want to marry you. I want to give my whole life to you. I want to spend every day with you. I want to be committed to you. Yes, I will marry you, but I still want to be able to see other people. . .”

What would you say that? Would you say, “Okay, I love you so much, so I’m going to allow that”? What would that do to your heart? It would break it.

This is often what we do with God. The cross is a proposal to us. The Holy Spirit revealed in a private revelation to St. Bridget of Sweden that through his crucifixion Jesus suffered 5,480 wounds to his body. This is his proposal to you.

As Jesus Christ hangs on the cross, He’s saying, “I’m giving you everything— my body, my blood, my heart, and my love.” So often we come to events like this, and we say, “Yes, Jesus. I give you everything.” Then, we go home, and our lives and our hearts stay the same. We keep the same affections, habits, and sins. We keep the same toxic friendships that lead us away from the Lord. Our time is our own and we decide we don’t have five minutes for prayer. The only exchange for one who dies to give you everything is to say, “Here’s everything in return—my time, my talent, my treasure, my heart, my sins, and my shame.”

Many of us, even those who have walked with Jesus for a long time, spend the journey giving Him little breadcrumbs. How does He respond? Does He come off the cross and say, “You’re not giving me everything, so I’m done with you”? No, He doesn’t get down. He stays and He waits.

His offer to give you everything isn’t dependent on your response, but the way to life and freedom, the way out of that hole that you can’t climb out of yourself, is to make a step in giving Him everything.