For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
--John 3:16
With a 24/7 news cycle, it's hard to avoid the conclusion that the world has problems. Life, increasingly, becomes a matter of avoiding them -- and the advertisements show us the way with a prescription here and the rollover of a 401K there.
But what does God think of the world and its problems? John 3:16, arguably the most famous verse in all of Holy Scripture, gives no hint of the Lord making any apologies for the world. Rather, we read of His love. The notable feature is that it is a giving love. So enough with this nonsense that love is merely an inward sentiment that we reserve and hold for someone else. Love -- God's love, that is -- has its marching orders. The love is such that He gave His only Son; He took that action.
Into our world problems comes the Son of God. He doesn't answer all the questions or rectify all the wrongs. He calls forth belief. Disciples are made. They discover that there is more to life than threescore years and ten. The ultimate in perishing, which is being forsaken by God, is no longer in the cards. Life takes on its eternal quality that even cannot destroy.
In and with this happy confidence we face the world, and we bid farewell to thumb-twiddling and "Oh, woe is me."
PD
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