Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to John 3, 16-18
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
God is Family
1. God loves. We define God as love because anyone who loves is willing to give everything for someone else and step outside of themselves to bring joy to the other. That is exactly what God does for you and me—He steps out of Himself and focuses his attention on us. He isn’t like a soccer referee waiting for us to mess up so He can pull out a yellow or red card. He walks beside us because He knows we are weak, and He wants to help us learn how to walk through life, just like a mom or dad helping a toddler learn to walk and stand up straight.
2. God is family. I use this term because, in a family, the father, the mother, and the children are all completely different people, yet they are one. It’s the same with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are distinct, and I think of it like this: the Father is the One who loves, the Son is the Beloved, and the Holy Spirit is the Love shared between them—all three in one being we call Love. That’s who God is.
3. God is light. There’s a story about a match that told a candle it needed to give it fire so it could shine. The candle didn’t want to be lit because it said its wax would melt away, and it would lose its life. The brighter the fire and the light, the faster the candle is consumed. But the match told the candle that it was created for that very purpose. Still, the candle stayed stubborn in its pride and arrogance. The match grew sad and said, “There’s nothing more I can do, but I’ll tell this before my spark goes out: you were made to shine and bring light, not just to remain a candle.” Hearing this, the candle saw that the match had almost gone out—its life was much shorter than the candle’s—and it finally understood it needed to shine. So the candle took the match’s final flame. The match ended its life joyful and smiling because it had fulfilled its mission in this world, and the candle spent the rest of its life shining. When you live in pride, you’re too afraid to take risks and you remain wrapped up in yourself. But God is calling you to shine, and He has placed “match people” in your life to light your flame. Now, go shine and encourage the lives of others. Don’t worry about being “used up”; just shine.
Remember something good is on the way.
God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
