God’s Love is Not Generic

-

 


Scripture: John 3:16-21 (ESV)

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 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. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Devotion:

            Today we ponder these words from the Apostle John. These are some of the most well-known words in all of scripture. We must not let familiarity obscure the foundational truth that these words contain. To help us to grasp the full importance of this passage let us consider an everyday example that will bring out what is so startling about these words.

            First, we must consider the situation in which Jesus spoke these words. A Pharisee had come to Him under cover of night. This man sought the secret to Jesus’ authority and power. In these few words, Jesus lays out for this man God’s vast plan of salvation for all the world. This exposition of divine truth leaves Nicodemus at a loss for words. Indeed, these words are still powerful even twenty-one centuries later.

            Jesus, in this passage, speaks of the love that God has for the men and women He has created. Love is such an overused word in today’s world. It has become common and has lost much of its meaning. We say things like, “I love pizza, or I Love the Chicago Bears.” These loves do not reflect at all what Jesus means when He speaks of love. The typical “love” of ours is generic. It is a cheap substitute for the real thing we find in Jesus.

            Our loves cost us nothing or very little. The love of God cost God His only Son. We will never fully understand the depths of that sacrifice while we remain in these mortal bodies. The Ruler and Creator of the universe became a weak and frail human in order to show us what love looks like. Let us prepare our hearts for the celebration of the coming of the Christ child this advent.

Prayer:

            Lord God Almighty, help us to appreciate the depth of your love for us. As we prepare to celebrate the advent of Jesus open the eyes of our hearts that we may understand the deep, deep love you have for us. May we seek to understand what the height, depth, and breadth of your love O Lord is. Help us to love others in that way daily. Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcoming the Unwelcome

-
  Scripture: Luke 7:36-38 (NIV) 36  When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37  A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38  As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them. Devotion:             First of all, some warnings to my readers. This post will exceed the 500 words I try to limit my posts. Second, this post will contain content people may find offensive or otherwise unfit for print. Please understand that my purpose is neither to offend nor upset but to provoke thought and, hopefully, respectful dialog.             We will use Luke chapter seven as an aid to interpreting the events that occurred last Thursday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. On that da
Read more

Father Forgive Them

-
  Scripture: Luke 23:33-34 (ESV) 33  And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34  And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Devotion:             The situation Jesus finds himself in here in today’s scripture is difficult for us to even imagine. A sham trial, no credible accusations of any kind, let alone any deserving of death, and yet here he is. A brilliant Rabbi, a teacher of the people who never led even one person astray from God’s will. This Holy One of God soon to be food for vultures.             This man who had done nothing wrong had no one in all the crowds who would speak up in his defense lest they be next to face the cross. An innocent man hung between two scoundrels. No voice from heaven declaring that this was the man that they were killing was actually the true Son of God. (See Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5, John 12:28) No the heaven
Read more

Transgenderism letter

-
  This is a copy of my letter to my senators, representative, and President Biden. January 15, 2024 Dear President Biden, Senators T. Duckworth, R. Durbin, and Representative D. LaHood             I am writing to you because I am concerned about the situation affecting our children and grandchildren, namely transitioning them from one gender to another. This nation must adjust course concerning these “interventions” because they are dangerous, irreversible, and life-changing. Our country should not be permitting these procedures on minor children under any circumstances. We must also make sure that adults who seek this care are given informed consent as to the risks versus benefits of sex reassignment treatments.             There are many drawbacks to gender-affirming care for minors. Besides the loss of any ability to give or receive sexual pleasure and sterility these treatments cause, there are social and psychological effects that we have no way of identifying because these
Read more