Propitiation: Only One Reason?

Propitiation, then, means that Christ has satisfied the holy wrath of God through His payment for sin. There was only one reason for Him to do this: He loves us.

The Search for Significance, by Robert S. McGee

Was there only one reason why Christ was put forward to be the propitiation for  our sins? If there is more than one reason, which one does the apostle Paul give?

“God put [Christ Jesus] forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3.25-26)

Yes, the Father deeply loves those for whom he sent his one and only Son to die. And, yes, Jesus deeply loves those for whom he became their propitiation. However, God also passionately loves his own righteousness so much that he displayed it in Christ’s being a propitiation on the cross, in a way that magnifies himself as just and the justifier of those who love Jesus.

GOD loves you in the way that shows he loves himself. Any other love is idolatry.