For Yahweh So Loved…
“For this is how much God loved the world- he gave his one and only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life. God did not send his Son into the world to judge and condemn the world, but to be its Savior and rescue it.” John 3:16-17
Many of us have been taught the word world means all people. Let’s dig deeper into the language of scripture. In the Greek, world means cosmos. It refers to the arrangement of things. The order of things. We have learned a lot recently concerning the importance of order in our lives. In the Hebrew the word for world is olam. It denotes the long duration of existence, both human and divine, future and past.
So, what does this mean? Yahweh the Creator of all things, seen and unseen, loves all that He has made, and because of His great love He could not allow what He so carefully created be out of order. He sent His unique Son, Jesus as a gift to you, me and all of humanity but also the cosmos to be redeemed and restored back to His original purpose.
This passage is so beautiful. It reminds us of the intimate relationship we get to have with Jesus, the Father and Holy Spirit right now and forever. It is important to remember Jesus did not come into the world just so we could be saved from hell. He came to put things back in order. This order is a close, intimate relationship with Him daily right now.
Through us, His beloved sons and daughters, the planet and all that it contains can be saved and rescued. We have many promises to reveal His intentions. Like this one in Romans 8.
“I am convinced that any suffering we endure is less than nothing compared to the magnitude of glory that is about to be unveiled within us. The entire universe is standing on tiptoe, yearning to see the unveiling of God’s glorious sons and daughters! For against its will the universe itself has had to endure the empty futility resulting from the consequences of human sin. But now, with eager expectation, all creation longs for freedom from its slavery to decay and to experience with us the wonderful freedom coming to God’s children.” Romans 8:18
Conclusion: The Father sent His Son because of His love for us not so He could love us. His love empowers us to see the change He desires for His creation, both humanity and the physical earth.
It all goes back to His love for us and seeing ourselves as He does. Think of it this way, everyone determines the value of something by how much someone else is willing to pay for it. The Father paid for humanity and all creation with His Son. Beloved, I would say He finds us very valuable.
