God So Loved

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

(John 3:16-17)

Meditation

Did anyone who’s ever lived loved others the way our God does? He doesn’t just tell us in the scriptures he loves us. One part of the person of God became one of us and then, even though he was fully God and could have put an end to his suffering, willingly sacrificed himself for us. There is no other kind of love like that expressed in this world. He left the splendor of heaven, where there is no pain or worry, and came here as a helpless baby to grow and be tempted as we all are. Even though he led a normal life until he was approximately thirty, he never succumbed to temptation.

I don’t totally understand the goodness of an all-powerful God that loves a wretch like me so much, he would step out of eternity and become one of us to save me. Why would saving me even enter into his thoughts? On the outside, I may have appeared to be a good person but inside my heart was black and dead. If I were God, I would not have saved anyone like me. I don’t deserve to be saved, but that’s the glorious thing about all of this, none of us deserve to be saved.

He didn’t come to save just the Jews or the lighter skinned, round eyed peoples; he came to save everyone, everywhere, regardless of what we’ve done. He could have come two thousand years ago to meet out justice on an evil world. He could have, with a single breath of his mouth, cast every living person into hell, and he would have been justified in doing so. However, he didn’t come to condemn, he came to offer us a path to righteousness which gives us our only way to the Father in heaven.

Without forcing himself on anyone he leaves us with two options. We can choose to live as we always have and condemn ourselves to hell, or we can turn from our sins and accept Jesus as our Lord and savior. It’s a simple choice really. Even if we were to live to be 100 years old, every material possession we hold dear will be left behind when we die. Giving our lives to Christ and living through his example of love and service guarantees us our place in eternity and treasures in heaven we cannot begin to fathom.

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, the birth of Jesus was easily the most important and overlooked birth in history. Overlooked because we don’t totally understand the goodness of an all-powerful God who loves us so much, he would become one of us just to save us. Why would Jesus want to save any of us? On the outside, when compared to each other, some of us may appear to be good, but inside, even the best of us have black, dead hearts. Thank you, Father, for taking these filthy, sinful bags of bones and making them clean with the blood of Jesus. We all deserve to be condemned to hell. Not one of us deserve to be saved but that’s the beautiful thing about it. You love us all, no exceptions. Jesus didn’t come to condemn or save just the Jews or the lighter skinned, round eyed peoples; he came to save everyone, everywhere, regardless of what we’ve done. All we have to do is believe in him, then eternity is going to be glorious because we will be with you. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen!