God’s love to the world

His love is to the world
Read John 3:16.

One thing that struck me as I read this is that the love was to the world. It means it is not limited or restricted. Many of us have love but it is often to our children, or spouses, or people we know. But that is not the nature of this love—it is one unto the world.

What kind of man did God create?
For us to appreciate this love and put it in context, I want us to begin from the creation. What kind of man did God create?

Read Hebrews 2:6-8.

The author of the book of Hebrews recalled what the psalmist said and asked, “Who is man?” Why are the thoughts of God dominated by man? That is the kind of God we have. He cares about us.

God created us as higher beings, a little lower than angels or even God himself. He created us to be superior.

God allowed man, in all his creation, to carry glory and honor.

God created a being who would be a steward over all he had created.

In Genesis 1:27, we see that God created man to represent him—to portray his image. That means when you see man you should have an idea of what God looks like. God was not afraid to risk sharing his image with us. That is the place God has put us.

Sin is what brought man down
Read Romans 3:23.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Sin brought man down. It reduced us from being stewards of creation to being subjects of creation. So you now see man worshipping the creation instead of being stewards of it. Man now walks in deprivation and shame and fear. Man will now do anything because of the fear of death. Man will do anything to preserve himself at the expense of others.

We were supposed to be the head and not the tail. We were supposed to lead and not follow. We were supposed to be supervisors of the creation instead of being subject to it but all of that has changed. We are now living a wretched life, destroying the glory of God (Romans 7:24).

Only God can fill the nagging void
God is the only one who could solve this problem. He has the power to restore you to your glorious position. We see God’s solution to this problem of man. Sometimes we feel when we get something or achieve a goal, that would be the end of all longing because we would be satisfied but the more things we acquire and the higher we rise in this life, the emptier it all feels. There is a void in us that can only be filled by God. Men have a way of telling you don’t qualify but based on scripture, you can be assured that God still loves you.

What should be our response to this love?
His love is manifested in the work that Jesus came to do. He came to shed his blood so all we have to do is to accept this love. Jesus is the symbol of this love so I want to invite you to come and experience this love. Don’t write yourself off. God wants to give you a clean sheet. He wants to give you a new life. Come to him.

By accepting Jesus, we are entitled to certain benefits. By accepting him we become joint-heirs with him. We are now the children of God and can sit at the same table to dine with him. But there are expectations for us. We have to abide by the principles of the kingdom. We can’t have one foot in the kingdom and another in the world. God’s objective for us is to become his image. People must see God in us and be comforted.

Galatians 5:19-21 talks about things that don’t comport with the kingdom. Verses 22-23 then talk about the fruit of the Spirit. Let us remember these and note that just as there are benefits of the kingdom, there are also responsibilities.