John chapter 3 verse 16: " For God so loved the world
that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not
parish but might have eternal life."
We see John 3:16 on signs at
sporting events. This is probably the
most quoted verse in the bible. It is
the gospel summarized in one verse.
Our God is a loving God.
He loves each of us so much that he gave his only son to suffer and die
for us. As Christians, we rejoice in the
knowledge that our God yearns for us to be with him in heaven eternally.
As we look around our church, we see examples of how much our
God loves us. We see fourteen stations
which show Christ's journey to the cross for us. We see in the stained glass windows different
events, mostly from Christ's life, which show his love for us. We see in the statues examples of holy men
and women who were filled with Christ's love.
And, first and foremost, we see the tabernacle containing Jesus body, blood, soul, and divinity in the
Eucharist.
He loves us. No matter
what we have done to hurt him or others, he still loves us. It is the very foundation of our faith. John 3:16.
Shout that verse from the rooftop or take a sign to a sporting event to
proclaim your faith to others.
The history of salvation, from the fall of Adam and Eve until
the final judgment, revolves around the coming of Jesus Christ, the Savior, the
Son of God. He came because he loved the
world so much. He simply couldn't bear
to see us perish in our sins; he longed to share with us his everlasting life.
God cares. And Jesus
Christ is the definitive proof that he cares.
He cares so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who
believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life. No hidden agenda, no selfish undertones- pure
love. This is the heart of God.
Many in our world today don't view God as a loving God. Some aren't even sure that there is a
God. Others think that God isn't
involved and just watches the messes that we get ourselves into for his
amusement. Still others believe that God
is not loving but purely a judge.
What is your view of God and how does that affect your
life? Do you fear God? Do you believe that Jesus suffered and died
out of love for us? Do you wonder why a
loving God permits suffering?
Jesus didn't have to suffer and die on the cross for us. He chose the cross out of love for us. We also have choices in our lives regarding
our crosses. We can embrace them or
abandon them. We can carry our crosses
on our journey towards eternal life or can try to take the easy way out.
Our crosses come in different shapes and sizes. We may have a difficult relationship that we
are struggling with. We can work on that
relationship and choose to love that person or abandon him or her. We may be considering having another
child. We can choose the sacrifice that
this child will involve or can decide to
buy the new car that we have always wanted.
We can offer up the day-to-day suffering that we have because of some
illness or can constantly complain about it.
Many years ago at a Cursillo retreat, the Holy Spirit gave me
the words: "I didn't say it was going to be easy." These weren't the words that I wanted to
hear. I would have preferred to hear:
"Your life will be a bed of roses."
But, these were the words that I needed to hear then and that all of us
need to hear occasionally. The crosses
that we carry are a gift from God to help us on our journey to heaven. Embrace them.
Rejoice in them. For they are our
key to eternal happiness.
Our crosses, our suffering, reflects the love that Christ has
for us. That concept is difficult for
many to understand today. Our society
wants to eliminate all suffering. And
the more that it tries to eliminate suffering, the more suffering is inflicted
upon us. When we run away from our
problems rather than face them, we often create more problems for ourselves and
for others around us.
Today is Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent. It is a day of celebration, a day of
rejoicing as we take a break from the penitential season. Today, let us rejoice, let us celebrate even
in our crosses. For our God is a loving
God who loves each one of us more than we can even imagine.
