For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son…
If we only remember one verse from the Bible, this one is often the one most quoted. These words are from the Gospel of John, chapter 3 verse 16 are favourite words that have a personal assurance of salvation. Yet it is a truth about more than just you and I and our journey to heaven.
Later in the New Testament we find the words from 1 John 3:16. Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. Here God is interested in all people of the world, therefore you and I have a role in serving others.
If we return to the initial verse of God loving the world and we understand that God is not only interested in humanity, we discover that God loves the whole of creation. This emphasis brings a challenge for humanity, you and I to follow God’s pattern of care and compassion for all of creation. Christine Sine writes, “God so loved the world – this beautifully crafted masterpiece created lovingly by God’s own hands for which we were created as caretakers and stewards…..Maybe salvation is more about God’s desire to redeem all creation and bring it back to the wholeness, abundance and harmony of the original creation – the restoration of shalom. Maybe part of our sinfulness is that we no longer take our role as creation stewards seriously – instead of tending and nurturing we consume and destroy. Maybe God’s plan for our salvation as human beings isn’t so that a few more souls can get out of hell (though that is obviously a great thing). Maybe God saves us so that we can once more become the responsible caretakers and stewards that God intended us to be.”
This is certainly something to think about.
Christine Sine is an Australian Blogger living in the USA.Her web page is Godspacelight and she comments and resources others in Christian Spirituality.A wise lady with great wisdom.