"But the sum of all is that God the Lord surrendered His own Son to death of the Cross for the fervent love of creation. 'For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son over to death for its sake.' This was not, however, because he could not have redeemed us in another way, but so the His surpassing love, manifested hereby, might be a teacher unto us. And by the death of His only-begotten Son He made us near to Himself. Yea, if He had had anything more precious, He would have given it to us, so that by it our race might be His own. Because of His great love for us it was not His pleasure to do violence to our freedom (although He is able to do so), but He chose that we should draw near to Him by the love of our understanding. For the sake of His love for us and in obedience to His Father, Christ joyfully took upon Himself insult and sorrow, as Scripture says, 'For the joy that was set before Him He endured the Cross, despising the shame.' For this same reason the Lord said on the night in which He was betrayed, 'This is My Body which is given for the life of the world, and this is My Blood which is shed for the many for the remission of sins.' And again He said for our sakes, 'I sanctify Myself.' In like manner, when the saints become perfect, they all attain to this perfection, and by the superabundant outpouring of their love and compassion upon all men they resemble God. The saints seek for themselves this sign of complete likeness to God: to be perfect in the love of their neighbour. The monastic fathers did likewise, when they strove to bear always in themselves that perfection and likeness (so full of life) of the Lord Jesus Christ."
--From the Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian, Homily 71, pp. 345-346.