Charity!

1 of a series of 3:

(John 3:16)  "For God so loved the world.”

The common definition for love; to feel tender affection for somebody such as a close relative or friend or something such as a place, an idea or an animal and we often quote the word itself. “I love chocolate, I love Italy or I love my cat” are often types of expression we hear people use around the word love. Why do we reason like this? I think it speaks for itself and the short answer would be because of what we get from the one whom we love. I love my cat because she is loyal, or because she gives me affection etc. When we examine it correctly there is always something in it for us. We never say we love a traffic cop who has just given me a speeding ticket. All he is doing is his job and hopefully doing it well. As soon as we are affected in the negative even if we are in the wrong we seldom find that word on our tongues.

Now if someone was to hurt our family the very last word we would ever use is I love that kidnapper for high-jacking me and my children and I am thankful for the ordeal he put us through. No never! Words like hate, revenge and retribution come to mind. Now if a vigilantly suddenly arrived on the scene and did to those criminals exactly what they had done to us, we would think slightly differently about the very same crime. Reasoning like, “they deserve it, or they got was coming to them”. Let me stop right here and let us now focus on a true love, God’s love, “agape love”.

It is only here that we begin to understand the actual truth behind this word. The Greek work used is charity (agape), now when we look on this word it has a different emphasis. Let us think on the word “charity”, as it speaks about someone in need who has nothing in return to give. It is about giving something that we have in our power to give and expect nothing in return. The bible teaches us it is more blessed to give than to receive. But when we give expecting something in return, it is not “agape”. Maybe just smile or a thank you is all we look for, but we still look to be appreciated. Give a beggar some loose change and watch him throw it to the ground as he is unappreciative because he expected more. What would our reaction be? We would resolve it in our minds never to give again or at least to him again. I am sure my point is now crystal.

We as mankind act like the unappreciative beggar over and over again and yet God so loved (agape) us, in other words had “charity” on us, he took pity on us and as He had it in His power to give us a life-line and that is exactly what He did: - "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) – Nevertheless to be a beneficiary of this love it does come with a proviso; one must believe in Him to have eternal life. It is as clear as day! Is this love not “agape”? You see a total sacrifice must first be given before the benefits will be reaped. Christ was crucified for a crime he never committed and then God raised Him from the dead, only now does God require something in return, we will look at this in more detail in the next post. What then was God’s intention? Let us now follow the thread of scripture in context. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:17) – God offering a life-line to those in the world who would believe on Him. But what of those who will not believe on Him? “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:18) – They are condemned already! So do not believe the garbage that now is preached even from some false pulpits, that there is no hell. Hell is a place as real as heaven and those who refuse the love of God in and through the Lord Jesus will end up there. Why then do some people reject this great offer? “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."” (John 3:19-21)

Lord willing we will pick this up again tomorrow and go a little deeper, so until then.

Signing off

Tyrone