Daily Reading 29

It's been awhile since I've blogged about the bible. Hope you're ready to get in on the discussion!

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." -John 3:17

Mr. Max Lucado is the writer of the book 3:16 The Numbers of Hope. We've been using his guide to read about the life of Jesus. I'm actually kind of glad that we get to talk about the last part of Jesus' life right now. It's the part of his life that we celebrate in the church at this time every year. It is the time when he is preparing to die. You might think it is weird that I am excited about this... Well, sometimes we're more likely to talk about God when there is a big deal made about it. We think a lot about God around Easter and Christmas.

I thought of a lot of different things when I read the words above from the bible. I thought of how badly Jesus is represented sometimes by church people. A lot of people call themselves Christians, but judge others quickly. Too often Jesus is represented by those that think they have the rule book for entry to heaven. The point of the words above is to show the followers of Jesus that he wants to SAVE the world. He wants to reconcile the world. Save, reconcile. Those are pretty churchy words. Here is a dictionary entry for reconcile:

rec·on·cile
1. To reestablish a close relationship between.
2. To settle or resolve.
3. To bring (oneself) to accept: He finally reconciled himself to the change in management.
4. To make compatible or consistent: reconcile my way of thinking with yours.
1. To reestablish a close relationship, as in marriage: The estranged couple reconciled after a year.
2. To become compatible or consistent: The figures would not reconcile.

The major point of the entry for today is that God has shown us how far he will go to call us back. He has walked down a road that ended with him dying on a cross to show us. His biggest desire is to bring us home... And let me be clear about what home means. Home means to God, Himself. Whatever road you've walked down, God is walking with you, wanting to be in a close relationship with you.