The God Who Loves and Is Loved: The Vicarious Humanity of Christ and the Response of Love

Can there be a greater folly than writing a book about love? But how can we avoid that most basic of all desires and commands? Yet we are very poor lovers, as our history demonstrates. If God is love, though, can we find help in considering the love of Jesus Christ, and the love of Jesus thought of in terms of what T. F. Torrance called “the vicarious humanity of Christ”? This would mean that we realize our inability and the Son of God’s ability to love on our behalf and in our place. Such a love mirrors the love of the Son for the Father in the Spirit, a love that reflects his eternal triune love. Therefore, could we have new perspectives on our relationships, the love of ourselves, of God, and the neighbor? How essential is love to being human, and what kind of love? What does it mean to “love your enemies”? What is the relationship between justice and love? And what are the fruits of love, the evidence of genuine love? Christian D. Kettler explores these issues in the context of the living reality of the vicarious humanity of Christ.