Loving God, we find it hard to believe sometimes that you would have given your own Son for us, and yet this is what your Word proclaims.  Grant us the discernment to see things from your perspective, as well as the faith to trust in you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    This past week I discovered that the assertion that God loves the world brings forth some pretty varied responses.  Some respond, “Of course God loves the world.  He made it, and that’s why God did what he did and saved us.”  Others say, “How could God possibly love this world?  Look at all of the terrible things that are going on in it!”  Still others ask, “How could a God of love allow such terrible things to happen?”  And so, what are we to do with this assertion from John that “God so loved the world” (Jn. 3:16)?

    First off, I’ll share with you how I have come to make sense of things in light of the Scriptures.  Undoubtedly, this is not the only response, and some of you might have made sense of things in a different way.  However, to me, it all starts with creation.  When God created human beings, they were created in God’s image - that is to say, they were made to be, at least in some respects, like God.  This included the ability to make choices and the ability to think and to understand and to love.  Human beings were also created to be in relationship with God – a relationship that was broken once human beings decided that they would make themselves god instead.

    However, God continued to desire this relationship, and wanted human beings freely to turn to God, as opposed to being forced into it.  In other words, God gives us a choice, and continues to allow people to make their choices – even if that means that some choose to cut God out of the picture entirely.

    Now, I know that some will still say, “Well, couldn’t God intervene and stop things from getting too bad?”  The answer is “Yes” – in response to our prayers!  Once again, God doesn’t just step in and take away our freedom to choose.  However, God does respond to prayer – in whatever way that God sees is best in the long run and in the big picture.  So at least part of this is a question of trust for us.  Do we trust that God has it all under control and will bring this world to an end at the appointed time?

    Actually, even in the first century people were asking why God was taking so long to bring it all to an end.  The answer given in 2 Peter is that time is totally different from God’s perspective, and that God wants all to have the opportunity to repent – to turn around – and to believe in Jesus (2 Pet. 3:8-9).  God is so much more patient than any of us would be, and also so much more loving.

    However, I know that some still find the love of God difficult to accept.  Part of this difficulty is imagining how God could love a world that hates God (Jn. 17:14-18).  Yet, God continues to be the patient, waiting Father, holding out his arms to his rebellious children, waiting for them to turn to him and come home.  It is a patient, self-giving love that is sometimes beyond belief.

    Others find God’s love difficult to accept because God has not taken away people’s suffering.  Instead, God has chosen to enter into that suffering through the cross, experiencing just as much, or more pain than any of us will ever endure.  Thus, God may not take away all suffering - especially suffering that is humanly caused.  However, God does experience all suffering with us, and transforms it to bring healing and eternal life.  Of course, these are the things that happen through Jesus.

    God’s solution to our broken relationship with God – God’s solution to a world that is full of sin – is to send his Son, Jesus, into the world.  Jesus came to show us what God is like, to live the sinless life that we never could, and to break the power of sin, death and the devil.  Through Jesus, we can have a life-giving relationship with God, and forgiveness of sins, and eternal life.  According to today’s gospel, believing in Jesus seems to be the all-important piece that brings us eternal life.

    I don’t know about you, but I’ve met a number of people over the years who say that they believe in Jesus, but their lives show no sign of it.  Scripturally speaking, this is impossible.  Particularly in the gospel of John, there are a number of passages that talk about what it means to believe in Jesus.  Those who believe in Jesus live as he lived - in love for God and for one another (Jn. 14:12).  Those who believe in Jesus obey his commands - and the main one in John is “love one another as I have loved you” (Jn. 15:12).  Finally, those who believe in Jesus are guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit, for the Spirit is poured out on all those who believe (Jn. 7:38-39).

    In the end, today’s gospel directs a number of questions at us.  First off, do you know how much God loves you, along with every other person and creature in this world?  Do you believe in Jesus?  Do you believe that he is the Son of God and your Saviour and Lord?  Do you live under the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit?  Finally, are you among the self-condemned?  Are you among those who choose darkness rather than light because what you like to do is opposed to God?

    That’s a lot of questions, and there is both judgment and life in those questions.  And so, how are we going to respond?  With reference to the things that are happening in our world, we can either be part of the problem or part of the solution.  In Jesus, the light has come into this world, and the light continues to be in this world through Jesus’ followers.  And so, empowered by the Spirit, we can lift up those areas of concern in prayer, and we can be the light in the darkness whenever and wherever we are given the opportunity to do so.  God both calls us and empowers us to do this.

    At the same time, we might want to respond to God’s love with some love of our own.  This, too, is a gift of the Holy Spirit, and a gift that is sorely needed by so many in this world.  It is a love that was certainly exhibited by Jesus during his time on this earth, and that was then multiplied through the gift of the Spirit to the Christian community.  It is a gift that continues to be ours to share.

    Finally, we might want to put our faith in Jesus Christ, or perhaps renew our faith if we already believe.  For, in Jesus we discover the height and breadth and depth of God’s love for us, as well as the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.  Having turned from our sin to God, and having received God’s forgiveness, we are free to live in that relationship with God that was always intended for us.  It is a life-giving relationship that will also carry us through whatever challenges we might face in this life.  It is also a relationship that brings life in all its fulness now, and lasts into eternity.

    And so, whether you are convinced or not, I do not know.  I do know, however, that it is the Holy Spirit who gives us the gift of faith and empowers us for life in relationship with God.  In the mean time, the proclamation of the good news continues to ring in our ears from John:

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 (Jn. 3:16).

May it be so.  Amen.


Lent 4(B)                                    John 3:14-21
March 18, 2012
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2012 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved