Growing In Godliness Blog
“God So Loved the World”
Categories: Author: Paul Earnhart, Faith, God, Jesus, Love, SalvationGod So Loved the World
By Paul Earnhart
God’s love for mankind has been expressed in more ways than we can count. His creation of man was an act of love, to say nothing of the wonderful world which He made for our habitation. He gave us eyes to see and mountains and flowers and colorful sunsets to behold. He gave us ears to hear and the song of the birds and the roar of the ocean to enjoy. He gave us the gift of taste and delicious food to satisfy our appetites. Who can count the material and physical benefits He has provided?
But when we try to describe the love of God, all of these things become insignificant beside the gift He gave for satisfaction of our spiritual needs. Jesus described it in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God knew that the needs of the inner man are greater than those of the outer man.
God’s love is surely the greatest love of history, and it was expressed in the greatest gift of all time…the gift of His only begotten Son. Its purpose was to rescue each one of us from the greatest possible tragedy: eternal death. And to provide for us the most valuable blessing we can hope to attain: eternal life.
Our world does not now comprehend what God did. Our thinking is so dominated by our concern for here and now, for the needs of our physical bodies, that most people give little attention to the needs of the spirit. But one day, all of that will change. Regardless of how we may prosper in material things, there will come a day when none of those things can help us. When we come to the time of our death, the important thing will be our relationship to God. If we are not right with Him, all will be lost. Jesus is our way to God (John 14:6). Only those who believe in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. And belief in Him means full submission to Him.
