First United Presbyterian Church

For God So Loved the World

John 3:16

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. 

For God expressed His love for the world in this way: He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not face everlasting destruction, but will have everlasting life. 
John 3:16 VOICE

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life.
‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ ‭NCV‬‬

For God had such love for the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever has faith in him may not come to destruction but have eternal life.
John 3:16 BBE

 

To move into the presence, let’s begin with simple breath. Ruach is the Old Testament word used for the Spirit of God. The word literally translates to “breath” or “wind”. Take three deep breaths and consider the Spirit of God flowing in and through of you. Focus your mind and heart on the divine stillness of His love washing over you.

It is this radiating, all-permeating, ever-conscious, life-sustaining love that I want us to consider today. See, the paradox is that God exists in love, but also as love. He is the source of love, but would cease to exist with out it. This is what 1 John is getting at when it says God is love. Because we exist as natural conclusions of God’s love. That, if God ceased to love, we would cease to be. As an outcome of this life-sustainment, we get to take part in this divine fulfillment of His purpose.

It is this that produced Jesus on earth. He lived a life with the sense of completion that He was bringing. All the prophecies fulfilled, all the prisoners to be restored, all the lives to be made free and whole. Every moment of His life was modeled around this truth. Jesus did not waste a second. His death, the first completion, the veil torn in two. The resurrection, the final completion. We may now enter through the dark glass to be one with Him.

It is this persistent peek behind the torn veil that is the walk of faith. The, “trying everyday to see what God sees.” Trying to understand why Jesus is the way that He is. If we choose to take this path, we are promised a lasting joy, a peace that overcomes our ability to make sense of it, a fulfillment of our lives. We are promised eternity.

Contributed by Jeffery Kerst

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