Para la versión en español, haga clic aquí.
God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. –John 3:17
Some folks regard religion as a giant pointing stick useful for calling attention to the world’s great sinfulness. Others see it as a tool for pulling themselves upward into a higher state of moral perfection or personal enlightenment. The Evangelist John says the central purpose of the Gospel is to tell everyone that God doesn’t hate us. God loves us. God doesn’t seek to destroy us for our faults but to rescue us by his mercy. Not every Christian we know has signed on to this message. But there it is.
It’s easy to be a believer when you embrace this first and fundamentally. It’s hard to be one if you view Christianity any other way: dead man on a cross, love your enemies, feed the world’s hunger, give away your possessions. If we don’t adopt the core principle of absolute divine love, the rest of our religion sounds like
a lot of hard work and dark times in exchange for dubious pie in eternity. I’m a fan of pie. But it would be a stretch to rearrange my whole life now in anticipation of a slice in the afterlife.
God desires the world’s rescue. How does this affect your plans for the day?
While The Gospel at Home takes a break in the summer months, we’ll be drawing our weekly reflections from Exploring the Sunday Readings.
Image credit: Enrique Casasola/cathopic.com
