"For God so loved the world..." Those are some of the more familiar and beloved words from the Bible. These verses from John 3:16-21 promise that the Son comes not to condemn but to save. This sounds like unadulterated good news, but there is a caveat. The light has come into the world, but people prefer darkness.
I vaguely recall an essay by Walker Percy that I believe was entitled, "The Message in the Bottle." It speaks of messages washing up on a desert island shore, most of them containing true information, but nothing that would change your life; for example, stating that water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit. But if a message were to direct the recipient to fresh water, well that could be another matter. It could be life saving if one was thirsty and had no water.
A professor of mine once suggested that the world is like someone who is dying of thirst, but doesn't realize that water will cure the problem. And so the message about fresh water just around the bend seems as trivial as one on water's boiling point.
"For God so loved the world... the light has come into the world..." That would seem to be great news, as long as we realize we need God's love and God's light. I sometimes wonder if God is trying to "save" me from all sorts of things, but I'm too content and comfortable with things to think that this is good news. When God's bright light shines on me, do I step back into the shadows? How do I become more open to God's love and God's light?
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