Friends in Christ Weekly Message
March 29, 2003

God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.
John 3:17 (Message*)

It is hard to grasp the magnitude of the gift to us of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ; the divine present among us as a human being. It is easy to misunderstand the purpose of the sending of the Son.

It is easy to look upon the sending of the Son as primarily for the purpose of condemning people for unfaithfulness, pointing an accusing finger as Peterson renders it in this translation. Sometimes Christians get all caught up in this, and can become paralyzed with guilt and self-condemnation. Certainly Jesus did point out evil, but this passage reminds us that this was not His primary focus.

We are blessed with a loving, long-suffering, forgiving God. God does not have a heart of condemnation. Rather, God is always seeking to help us, to nurture us into being our best. Christ came to help to put us right, as individuals, as groups, as the whole world.

May we respond to Christ's love and listen to His guidance. We know that we as individuals and the world as a whole desperately need to be put right. If we trust fully in God's love and God's promises, we will be made right as individuals and we will be guided to set the world right. Dear friends, let us anchor ourselves in God's love through Christ Jesus, and let Him transform us into His image.

Bill Samuel

* The Message version © by Eugene H. Peterson.

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