As I have been thinking about this most holy of weeks, Easter week, I have been drawn to a short passage, John 3:16-17.
John 3:16 is probably the most familiar verse from God's word.
In fact, we can at times take this familiar verse somewhat for granted.
It is the most concise verse on God's love, but sometimes we take this verse and make it a kind of theology in and of itself. That theology is that God is love and being love could never allow us harm or ill will. Pain and suffering would be unthinkable! God is love! Remember?
This is true, God is love but it is only a part of the story.
God is perfect and holy and in His holiness He can't tolerate sin; sin of any kind. A "white" lie violates His holiness as much as murder or rape! Is this hard to grasp? It does not always make sense to us but the more we get to know God the more He helps us to understand His holiness and we can then gain a better grasp of this truth. Sin is sin. Period. God does not differentiate and no one will escape His judgments. They are right and true and He has all the evidence to convict, He has the right to convict. "He who makes the rules, rules", and God rules!
Now the scale tips, the God we thought of as love we now fear as the God of judgment. We need to walk on egg shells and be careful to do things that please Him or else, WHAM! We are goo, a stain on the highway of life! Lightening and the whole shootin' match! Hellfire and brimstone await those who step out of line!
This is also a partial truth. To get a clearer picture we need to step back and see what God's word says in whole and stop taking pieces that tickle our ears or support what we believe we know about God.
God is love AND God is justice. He loves us but He can't set aside our sins because that would violate His character. What can we do with this catch-22?
Enter Jesus. Emmanuel, God with us.
Jesus willing set aside His rights as God to live among us as man and He, though tempted in every way that you and I are, was without sin, a spotless lamb, the perfect sacrifice.
Through His death on the cross, burial, and resurrection three days later the quandary of love vs. justice has been resolved and we are now presented with a gift a choice if you will: eternal life. Did you catch what I said, Gift? It is entirely free, but…Yes but! There is one thing that has to happen…You need to accept the gift. It's there waiting for you with your name on it but you must take it. How do you take it? By faith. By believing that Jesus was who He said He was, God, and that He did what He said He did, died to pay the price for the sins you and I have committed.
In other words, God loved us so much that He was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to satisfy His holiness and righteous requirements that you and I could never ever pay in our own power. What will YOU do with this knowledge? It is possible to transfer your trust to Jesus on your death bed with your final breath but consider this: When are you going to die? Will you have the luxury of a death bed or will you be stuck down this very hour by a car or heart attack? You don't know? Then NOW is the time to turn to God and accept His awesome gift that He is waiting for you to take. It is free but you must believe.
I will be praying for you.
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