I Love You Already
There was an elderly man who lost his wife of 70 years. He was blind and could barely walk with assistance. He was being moved to a nursing home because his bride was no longer able to care for him. As the nurse led the old gent down the hallway to his new room, he started smiling and saying, "Oh, I love it already." The nurse replied, "You haven't even set foot in the room." "I know," he answered, "it doesn't make any difference; I decided I was going to like it before we left the house."
Now, if we were to apply that kind of attitude towards all the people we already know, and even those we haven't even seen yet – THAT would be Christlikeness. That's what Jesus did when He went to the cross for you; you weren't even born, and He was already forgiving you.
Jesus has always been the forgiver. Scripture tells us that He came into the world without intending to condemn us, but that we might be saved. [2] But someday He will judge everyone; and everyone will respond by kneeling in front of Him to give account for our deeds done in this life. And, to a great degree, it is this issue of how well we have loved each other that Jesus will use to judge us on that day.