So Loved!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) is a United States Act of Congress that is a the government's aid program for disadvantaged students.  The goal is to ensure that every child has a chance to succeed within their own educational environment, despite their disadvantages.  Congress laid a foundation for the success of every child but at the end of the day the choice to receive and implement still remained with the student.  Success was only achieved based upon the mindset of the child.

We are no different and A.W. Tozer knew this well.  He wrote, ‘What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.’ What we think is how we believe.  God in His deep love implemented the original No Child Left Behind program.  He sent His Son from perfection down to an imperfect world.  He looked upon His creation and saw that we needed a plan from sin…not one of His children was to be left behind.  His plan was grounded in His love but the process was through His sacrifice.  So when we are asked to sacrifice why do we doubt His love for us?  Why do we gladly receive and trust His love for our salvation beyond death, but fail to trust Him during life?  What we think about God is how we see God.  We doubt His love when we experience loss…we question His character when we are living less than joyful lives.  We focus on ourselves and take inventory of our circumstances which leave us powerless, ‘moping through this life apart from the love of God, focused on ourselves and our situation.’ Stronger, p. 22.  We buy into the lie that Satan spins that we are the only one who is experiencing this…that we have suffered longer and deeper than anyone else.  We determine that maybe we have missed out on God’s best.  And Satan smiles because he knows that we have just elevated our circumstances above the grace and love of God.  We have limited both God’s love and power.  God SO loved every child that He gave up temporary fellowship with His Son so that He could have permanent fellowship with every one of us. 

Our spiritual reality is that God became life on earth to die so that we who are dead on earth may eternally live. So let us start living like we believe in God’s love for us in the here and now and not just in the eternal.  1 John 4:8 doesn’t state that God was love or God will be love in Heaven.  It speaks of the here and now… ‘God is love.’