John 3:16-18
“This is how much God loved the
world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that
no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole
and lasting life. 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. Anyone who trusts in him is
acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under
the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s
failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to
him.
Scripture quotations
from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene
Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All
rights reserved.
This morning, I read a harrowing
newspaper account of the confession from a man who abducted, sexually
assaulted, and murdered 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling on October 22,
1989, in a field near Minneapolis, Minnesota. The assailant recently
led authorities to the little boy’s remains, 27 years after the crime
was committed. I tried to put myself in the shoes of Jacob’s parents,
and I was moved to tears as I thought of them listening to this man’s
confession and picturing their little boy…frightened and alone as a
deranged man kidnapped and abused him, then put a gun to his head and
pulled the trigger.
Whether we are eleven or one hundred and
eleven, there will be things in life that happen to us that we cannot
control. I realize that parents - and adults who love children like
their own - cannot be with them 24/7. I understand that there will be
good AND bad things that will happen to those we love, and we won’t be
there to revel in the joys…or to protect them from dangers – and even
moments of fear and panic. If you let your mind dwell on these things,
it can become overwhelming.
Instead, I consider John 3:16-18, in
which we are promised that God loved the world so much that He allowed
HIS only Son to enter into it and be subjected to all sorts of
encounters and experiences…both incredibly good – and unimaginably bad.
But God never left Jesus. He was with Him through every single moment.
And the GOOD NEWS is that because of this, God never leaves us. He is
with us in the form of His Holy Spirit, now and forevermore.
Even
when you or I cannot be with our children (of any age), God is there.
When a loved one draws his/her last breath – and there is nothing we can
do about it – God is with them. God is with us for our highest
highs…and our lowest lows…and everything in between. He loves us SO
much that He was willing to sacrifice HIS son in order that this might
be the case. We must learn trust Him and live in His presence.
I
won’t pretend that this is an easy – or instant – “fix”…that once we
invite Jesus into our hearts, we are immediately able to surrender every
single thought, experience, and emotion to Him. And certainly, for a
child the age of Jacob Wetterling, it might be asking too much to hope
that He had the spiritual maturity to call on God in this instance. But
I have to believe that God did flood this child’s heart with a
supernatural calm and peace. I am confident that we are commissioned to
instill in others the faith and assurance that God loves us so much that
He is with us in every situation…and we must especially do this for our
children.
Many will ask, “If God loves us so much, why does He
allow suffering and the occurrence of horrific atrocities?” My honest
answer is that “I don’t know.” But I know that God does not do this to
be cruel…that He suffers with us in these things. I also know that God
rescues and redeems - and never wastes any experience.
In the
case of Jacob Wetterling, his mother became a national advocate for
missing children. And in 1994, a federal law, named after Jacob, was
enacted that requires all states to establish registries for sex
offenders. If we really begin to look at the big picture, we see how
God knits together all sorts of experiences for outcomes we couldn’t
even imagine…because of His incredible love for us.
The best gift
we will ever receive is salvation through Jesus Christ – and the
continual presence of His Holy Spirit. The best gift we can give
another person is a demonstration of this love and presence in action in
our own daily living. We must demonstrate that God is with us in each
circumstance…that He loves us SO much that He sent Jesus to take our
sins and show us how to fully live with faith and hope in His promises.
Have
you accepted God’s “love gift?” Do you live in His presence on a daily
basis? Don’t you want to? Are you ready to look for God in all
situations and trust Him to surround you with His power and peace? Will
this be the day that you get started?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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