The cross is seen as the supreme example of God's love for us, but many struggle to understand why Jesus had to die or if He had to die at all. There's no one right answer, but the Bible offers us glimpses or clues as to what Jesus's death really means for our lives. Traditionally, these “answers” are called atonement theories.

The answer to the question this week is, "to inspire us to love." We call it "Jesus as Moral Example." At its core, it is the belief that Jesus' death was not paying off a debt, buying someone back from the devil, or using blood to make an angry judge feel better. Instead, it was an extreme, overwhelming demonstration of divine love meant to soften our hardened hearts, lead us to turn around, and guide us toward moral and spiritual change. It's the belief that Jesus died to show us the full extent of God's love, inspiring us to love exactly the same way.