So Much....

Have you ever wondered how much "so much" is?  Like…if I tell someone that I "love them 'so much,'" how much is it?  "So much" said by itself is really an expression of our finiteness--our inability to express ourselves fully.  It is basically saying, "I love you more than I know how to tell you." 

But it is also possible to assign a value to "so much."  If I were to say someone, "I love you 'so much' that I'll buy you a candy bar," it would be an indication of how much I really love them.  Now, if I'm buying them a candy bar when I have an opportunity to buy them a filet mignon, I'm probably don't love them very much, but if I'm buying them a candy bar with my last fifty cents in the world, I probably love them a whole lot. 

For some people the candy bar level is not enough, though.  They have to up the ante.  So we get scenes like you might see in a movie.  Guy: "I love you."  Girl: "How much?"  Guy: "So much that I would die for you!"  This level suddenly brings a level of seriousness to the love.  This guy, if he really means what he says, loves this other person, this woman, more than he loves his own life.  For some the idea of this kind of love is almost staggering.  To love or be loved this deeply is almost beyond comprehension.  For the battered soul who has been betrayed and rejected, it seems impossible that any person could love a reject more than their own life.

"So much" may also be assigned a negative value.  One may say, "I hate you so much."  Or "You annoy me so much."  Once again, these in themselves have no defined value.  They are just an infinite expression indicating a level of the stated substance (i.e. love, hate, etc.) that exceeds human definition.

But as I wondered how much "so much" is, I thought of God and John 3:16.  The CEV says, "God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die."  (John 3:16)

God loved people "so much…."  But there is a value assigned to this "so much...."  He loved us so much that if we will simply believe in Him, just simply place our trust in Him, we can have eternal life.  We will never really die.  Yes, our bodies will die.  They have to.  But our souls will live on.  He loves us so much that He gave us the opportunity to be restored in relationship with Him.  He loves us so much that he gave us the opportunity to begin eternal life while we still live here on earth.  He loved us so much that He sent His only Son to give up His life so that we could be saved from ourselves and from sin.  He died so that we can live.  We were just ugly, selfish people, but God saw beauty in us and said, "I love you….  So much…."  How much?  This much--"...that he gave his only begotten son...."  And that makes all the difference.