With the possible exception of "Jesus wept," it is probably the most-often memorized verse in the Bible.

John 3:16 (Amplified Bible) For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

There have been so many images of pain on our televisions and in our newspapers in recent weeks and now as the evil Sadaam Hussein has fallen we get to hear of the tragic stories of people tortured, raped and killed by the authorities in Iraq.

How little do we realise that Christians’ around the world are suffering because of their faith, because of their love for Jesus.

Right now in China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait and many other nations the life changing experience of becoming a Christian immediately puts that life in danger.

Oh how those believers know the cost of obedience to Christ who said, ‘Follow me!’

It's hard for some of us to grasp the horror of being treated so savagely by the very people who should be protecting us.

In Iraq there will be many accounts of courageous men and women who have risked their own lives, to rescue these victims.

Our prayer is that the future will be good for Iraq, but to see the joyous expressions on their liberated faces, makes the heart soar!

Last year we took one of our dogs, Kess our greyhound (who like Dylan the Labrador is a member of the family) to the Vets to be micro chipped. Her skin is not tough and she cried out in pain as the vet carried out this procedure. My daughter Bethan was crying, Rosie was upset and as much as I tried to maintain my ‘macho image’, it really upset me, to see Kess cry out.

I wished it were me. I have cried many tears over the years as our children have been ill or our family pets have suffered. So I can only imagine what God felt when His "only Son" was tortured for us.

If you are a parent, imagine voluntarily offering up your child to suffer on someone's behalf. If you don't have any children, imagine putting your husband or wife, a dear friend in the place of someone else, to take that person's place, giving him or her over to torturers and murderers.

In some cases, it would be a person who had not only rejected you, but used your name to curse, someone who laughs at and disobeys your laws (which were for the person's own good, to start with). It would be someone who never speaks to you or only comes to you when he / she wants something, doesn't appreciate what you have done.

However that's just what God did. He loves you and me so much, that He put His Son in the path of unimaginable physical and emotional pain. He did all that for US.

If you have ever pricked yourself with a pin, you know how that really hurts. Now imagine pushing the pin all the way through your finger or arm, and attaching yourself to a wooden beam with it.

The next time you call someone stupid, ugly or something else you wouldn't want to be called yourself. The next time you judge someone or look down on a person for some reason, remember that God's own Son was tortured for that person.

The next time you doubt how much God loves you, or feel that you aren't worth much yourself - remember how much you are worth to God.

He loves you!