Romans 5:8, "God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." At the very center of God's eternal purpose, stands the cross of Jesus. Calvary is not merely a tragic moment in history--it is the appointed place where Divine justice met Divine mercy. There, the spotless Lamb of God bore the sins of His people, that they might be made the righteousness of God in Him. The crucifixion of our Lord was not an accident of human hatred, but the outworking of God's sovereign and eternal decree. "It was the Lord's will to crush Him, and cause Him to suffer." Isaiah 53:10. There, on that cursed tree, our Savior accomplished the ultimate demonstration of divine love--His substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of His chosen people. "The punishment that brought us peace, was upon Him." Isaiah 53:5. How precious is the sin-atoning death of Jesus! Divine justice demanded a payment, and divine mercy provided it in Jesus. Every blow of the whip, every thorn pressed into His sacred brow, every nail driven into His sinless flesh, every bit of spit spewed on His blessed face, was the due penalty of our transgressions--yet He bore it willingly, out of His great love for us! How utterly vile must sin be to the thrice holy God, that nothing less than the horrifying death of His only beloved Son could take it away! How vast must His love be, that He would not spare His only begotten Son from undergoing the full punishment that our sins rightly deserved. It is here at the cross, that the believing soul sees the unchanging character of God: His holiness did not relax. His justice was not bypassed. His truth was not compromised. Here is th