John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The above Scripture is probably the most quoted passage in all the Bible yet most people miss an extremely important aspect of this verse. The focus is always on “whosoever believeth” because it carries a promise that is both personal and critical to the future of “me”. More important than this phrase is the attribute of GOD that begins with “so”. “So loved the world” is incomprehensible to the human mind. Did Our Heavenly Father love Attila the Hun, Jack the Ripper, Adolf Hitler, and Josef Stalin? The answer has to be “Yes” for HE created them and formed them in the womb as he did every other person who has walked the earth. HIS Love supersedes our understanding and we must not judge men through our own eyes but through HIS.
HIS Love is firmly tied to our everlasting life but we spend so little time in understanding this most critical attribute. How is GOD described in this passage? HE is the one who “so loved the world”. As we all know, from a physical point of view there was not much to love. Mankind was living out the sin that was firmly planted at the core of their souls. Israel had proven it could not walk righteously before Our Heavenly Father even as Moses was in the midst of talking with Our Heavenly Father and receiving the Law. It was necessary to physically wipe out thousands of men, women, and children because of the sin prevailing in their camp. How could the GOD of Love do that unless there is a path to restoration after physical death?
Mankind has viewed Our Heavenly Father from a vantage point of unrighteousness and thus is blinded to the complete picture of restoration and reconciliation. Even those Christians who hang their hat on this Scripture have only focused on the promise specific to them rather than the One who provides the Promise. O Father I repent for being so self-centered!
Currently, we are stuck in linear time. We plod through each day, week, month, and year without the ability to view the whole picture. We all have that craving to know the future and to fix the past. How many times have we said, “If I only knew”? We continually seek after the “Holy Grail” of prediction whether it be a meeting with a prophet, a formula to invest by, or interpreting the signs assumed to be spiritually provided to us on a personal basis and relevant to our current predicament.
Isa 46:9
Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,
Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’
HE is not subject to “time” and declares there is none above HIM. As we shift our focus from “me” to “HIM”. it will be HIS good pleasure to direct our paths and leads us away from destruction. If you want the future to be palatable and non-destructive to your life, be led by Our Heavenly Father who will direct your path and lead you away from the abyss. If you don’t do this now, then you will certainly do this after you leave your physical body. The greatest complement a father can receive is for his child to emulate him. Are you complementing your Father?