its so amazing to me to really think about the back story for this scripture. For God so loved. He loved us and rather yet wants us to love Him back so much that He was willing to create a people who have free will whom He knew would sin and require redemption. His desire to be loved by us so overpowered any thought of self that He allowed Himself to die in a most excruciating & painful way when He could have avoided all of that by simply creating a people who would follow & love him no matter what. But I guess He must have thought how much better (and this really applies to us also) is it to be loved by someone who loves out of true desire for relationship than to be loved out of obligation. i cant begin to wrap my brain around how much Jesus wants us to love him that he would have gone thru something totally avoidable.

John 3:16