I can hear your heartbeat, for the world you love…

I hear John 3:16 all over but it never really occurred to me that God loves the world. I always think of him being displeased with the state of how things are. It’s easy to focus my eyes on the negative. The innocent people being killed, the broken marriages, the stealing, the closed-hearted way we treat one another… sin is running rampant.

I know that it’s hard for my soul to tolerate what is going on around me. I often long for heaven because I can’t bear to look at the state of this broken world. But God doesn’t turn his head and say “Well, you’re all hopeless.” No, God loves the world. He fights for this world. He longs for things to be made new. He left His throne and the endless praise he was receiving and entered into our mess. He gave His Son. There is no greater love than that.

I think that I need to start fighting for the world that way that God does. First, I need to fervently pray for heaven to come here. I need to truly trust and believe that God will make all things new. Second, I need to be light in the darkness. I need to ask God to help me to love people well and in deep and earnest ways. Third, I need to take on the eyes of Christ and ask for the Holy Spirit to fill me and strengthen me to even get anything accomplished.

Now don’t hear this. God does NOT love murder, he makes that clear in his word: “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.”  Proverbs 6:16-19

However it is important to keep in mind that God is well aware of the state of how things are BUT, unlike me, he does not lose heart and he doesn’t want to flee the continent or hop on the first spaceship to Mars. No. God still loves this broken place. He doesn’t want to abandon ship. God knew the detestable sin that we were, and still are, capable of and yet “while we were STILL sinners, Christ died for us.” The truth gives me hope in the love that defeated death and conquered the grave! Praise God for that!