God didn’t ask humanity to climb our way up to Him—He stepped down into our world because love always moves first. 1 John 4:10 reminds us that the atonement isn’t just a theory to debate or something to over-intellectualize. At its core, it’s the clearest expression of love the world has ever seen. And when you start studying God—really studying Him—you learn quickly that His nature can’t be reduced to our opinions or wrapped neatly in our explanations. Scripture tells us He’s a mystery, not because He can’t be known, but because He’s endlessly knowable. There’s always more of His character to discover, more layers of His love to be revealed. So when we talk about atonement, sacrifice, or salvation, it all comes back to this: Love equals sacrifice. And God showed us real love by sending His Son. This is who He is.