Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – March 22, 2018
By Tripp Prince
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17 (NIV)
Your view of God directly impacts the way in which you view yourself and your relationships. If you believe God to be distant and uninvolved with his creation, you will live as though your decisions and choices have no ultimate meaning or consequence. On the other hand, if you believe God to be in everything and not distinct from you or from creation, in times of crisis or great need you will have no way to cry out to him as a higher or stronger power who can provide help and relief.
From time to time I’ve heard people divide God into a “good side” and a “bad side”. In particular, God the Father can be seen as mean, angry, and wrathful, where as God the Son is the one who is on our side, intervening to keep us away from his angry dad. Given the fact that the image of fatherhood is often a bruised or even broken image, this view of God as angry Father is only reinforced.
If we struggle to believe that God is for us and seeks our good, we will struggle to truly approach him in prayer. We will seek to keep him at arms length, afraid to truly open ourselves up and expose our deepest vulnerabilities. Our posture towards him will be one of fear rather than faith, terror rather than trust.
John 3:17 reminds us of one of the great truths of the Bible: God’s mission of love is a team effort, with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all working in perfect harmony to heal and restore creation. It doesn’t ignore or minimize the cost of this redemption. Sin is real and the cause of all of our pain and brokenness. And yet Jesus doesn’t come to save us from the Father. The Father sends the Son in perfect harmony and as an overflow of love. He is sent not for our condemnation but for the salvation of the world. As it says just a few verses later, “The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands” (John 3:35).
God’s mission in the world is fueled and motivated by his perfect and never-ending love. This was true in the very beginning, is seen throughout the pages of the Bible, and is true for us today. God the Father loves you perfectly and wants to heal and restore any broken images of fatherhood that you may have. He wants you to know that he loves you to the point of sending his own Son so that you and I may be reconciled and restored to perfect communion with him. This is great news indeed!
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1 NIV).
Prayer
Father, thank you that you sent Jesus into the world out of great love for us. Help us to respond to your love with faith and gratitude. Amen.Application
Are your images of fatherhood wounded and in need of healing by the perfect love of God our Father?Related Reading
Matthew 6:26; John 14:23; James 1:17Post/Tweet today
God’s mission in the world is fueled and motivated by His perfect and never-ending love. #WisdomHunters #JesussavesWorship Resource
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I think you may have meant to say ‘a’ way rather than ‘no’ way in the first paragraph, unless I’m reading it incorrectly…
Just as the Father loves the Son and placed everything in his hands, we must have faith in the Son to reach the Father.
Thank you friend. We appreciate your comments after reading “Jesus Came to Save not Condemn”. Tripp’s devotional was a powerful reminder of God’s great love for us (“The Father sends the Son in perfect harmony and as an overflow of love.”)
When I read this devotional, I was awaken from a somewhat drowsy attitude that I had, at time, taking this powerful gift of Love from our Father for granted. What an awesome “wake up call” this devotional was!
Tripp stated, “He wants you to know that He loves you to the point of sending his own Son so that you and I may be reconciled and restored to perfect communion with Him. This is great news indeed!”
AMEN AND AMEN!!! I thank you, Father.
Such a great reminder especially during this holiest of weeks!
HE IS RISEN!!!
We are grateful for you and look forward to hearing from you again.
Believing, trusting and REMINDED of His Great Love!!
Gwynne
“Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious.
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you.
All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing praises of your name.”
Psalm 66:1-4