Short-Sighted

John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

Cleaning my room the other day, I uncovered an old note of Sermon notes that I had taken earlier this year. Being near-sighted myself, this metaphor homily on our spiritual shortsightedness “struck a chord”. Pastor JJ preached that the bigger picture of God’s plan is that it is not “just about you”, but about rescuing the “dead in its trespasses” world. Oh, our Lord God loves each of us individually, but we are all also a piece of a larger body being rescued. And God didn't rescue us to be hopeless, but to be filled with hope in faith, because faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). It begins with God, so sit before Him and listen. Everyone else, everything else and everywhere else is the wrong place. Know that you need Him.

“The great “I Am” exists and to start life without God is foolishness, because there is no common sense in unbelief. Wisdom comas through God, so if you want to figure out life, then begin with the Lord. We imagine and pretend that we can make it on our own, but deep down we need God’s love. As sinners, we do not deserve His love, but God gave His unconditional, God-made, agape love as a choice. Love from afar was not enough or even an option for the Lord. The Almighty teaches us how to love, but not a “cheap” love or an “easy” love. God did not just “feel like” loving us. Jehovah gave of Himself, because God is love and chooses to love out of His character. God gave Himself so that we could have life. God gave life by His love.

You may have heard before that you can replace the word “world” and the word “whoever” with your own name and see how much God loved you individually. But if you look at this verse and just see you, then your vision is short and you are short-sighted. “For God so loved the world” means that God give us a mission to spread His love as co-lovers of the world. It doesn’t stop with us; His love grows. The message: “Turn to God in repentance, accept the Savior and find “real’ life in Jesus Christ. In Him, we find meaning in life. Has it changed our world? This is the beginning, not the end. Everyone needs God’s love.

In Christ, Brian