“In death, my love, I loved you best.”

This is a profound line from one of the characters in Andrew Peterson's "The Monster in the Hollows" (book three of the Wingfeather Saga, book four is yet to come).  The trilogy is full of Biblical allusions and metaphors, but this one captures the Christ-like willingness to suffer and die for others in a powerful way.  It is not in his life here on Earth that Jesus proved his love, although he certainly loved the many that he healed and he wept at the tomb of Lazarus.  Rather, it was in his death on the cross that Jesus proved once and for all the limitless love of God for his children.  A love that would no accept defeat, a love that would bear the ultimate burden in order to redeem us and bring us home.  Most parents will understand this type of love; they would choose in an instant to trade their life for the life of their child.  We can understand this type of love.  What God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit chose to do goes beyond parental instinct.  Even before this world was made, God knew that making mankind in his own image would result in our rebellion and doom.  To make us without it would be to make us lesser beings; beings not capable of freely choosing to love our Creator.  Knowing all this, God chose to create us and planned from the beginning to send his Son, Jesus, to save us.  You see, it was in death that Jesus best showed how much he loved us.
In case you're wondering, I whole heartedly recommend the Wingfeather Saga; Peterson's books are entertaining and powerful with a Biblical morality woven into the framework and a redemption story at its heart.

Our God is a Creator, so are we

Which is the greater wonder, the majestic mountain or the towering skyscraper? The crystal clear lake or the painting on the ceiling? We strive to make things that are beautiful because we're created in the image of our Father. God created the entire universe (not just Earth) because it was his creative pleasure to do it. Why would someone paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (read Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling, it's a good book on that effort)? Why, because it's beautiful. This is our stained glass window, it looks out to the east and catches a lot of sunlight in the early hours. Why include such things in a church? Didn't you ever try to build something while your dad was working on a project, or "cook" something while your mother was making lunch? We create to honor our Creator.