1 John 4:7–12
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love…
Jesus, the name above all names! We can love others because God first loved us. Whoever believes in the salvation that only comes in Jesus will spend eternal life with Him. In Him and through Him and in the unity of Holy Spirit the world has eternal peace! This is the work of God. Carla
John 3:14-17
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. NKJV
Every time the words lifted up occur in the Gospel of John there is a reference to Jesus’ death (8:28; 12:32, 34). When Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness (Numbers 21:9), those who looked at it lived. So it is with the Son of Man (1:51). This is the first time eternal life is mentioned in John’s Gospel. When a person trusts Christ, he or she is born again and receives eternal and spiritual life, God’s kind of life.
God’s love is not restricted to any one nation or to any spiritual elite. World here may also include all of creation (Romans 8:19–22; Colossians 1:20).
At His first coming, Jesus came so that the world through Him might be saved. When Jesus comes again, He will come in judgment upon those who refused His offer of salvation. The NKJV Study Bible
Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness alludes to the events of Numbers 21:9 and presents the Son of Man as superior to Moses. The Son of Man be lifted up alludes to both the crucifixion and the exaltation of Jesus in His death and resurrection.
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God loved the world, this verse presents a concise summary of the gospel message, tying the events of Jesus’ death to God’s love for the world He created. The statement is remarkable in its depiction of divine care for the entire world—not just His chosen people, Israel.
One and only Son the Greek the term used here is monogenēs, meaning “one of a kind.” At one time, it was presumed that the term derived from the Greek words monos (“one” or “only”) and gennaō (“to beget”). The translation “only begotten” is based on this assumption. Subsequent manuscript discoveries produced evidence that the term actually comes from monos and the noun genē (“kind” or “type”). The term monogenēs therefore refers to uniqueness and has no inherent reference to chronology or origin. Hebrews 11:17 reinforces this by referring to Isaac as the monogenēs of Abraham. Isaac was not Abraham’s first child—chronologically, Ishmael came first. But Isaac was considered unique because of the supernatural intervention that aided in his birth and his role as the son through whom God’s covenant with Abraham continued.
Ancient critics of the doctrine of the Trinity used this term to claim a chronological beginning for Jesus. Conversely, the Nicene Creed used this term to assert Jesus’ inherent relationship to the Father: that as the eternal Son He is “begotten [gennēthenta], not made” by the Father.
John prefers to refer to Jesus as the “Son” and God as the “Father” (John 3:35; 6:40; 17:1). Jesus’ reflection and representation of the Father is complete (14:9–10). As one sent by God, Jesus fully represented Him on earth (13:16, 20). Faithlife Study Bible
John 3:36
He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
1 John 4:7–12
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love…
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
John 6:29
Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
Did you see any of the photos from the epic—around the moon—mission?
With some images never before seen by human eyes.
I have just one word: Awe. Oh, and goosebumps. Okay… two words.
And I loved this headline in today’s newspaper: “The Mission to the Moon Inspires a Sense of Reverence.”
And I can hear Mr. Roger’s voice, “Our world hangs like a magnificent jewel in the vastness of space. Every one of us is a part of that jewel, a facet of that jewel. And in the perspective of infinity, our differences are infinitesimal. We are intimately related. May we never even pretend that we are not.” (Dartmouth commencement address 2002)
Psychologist Dacher Keltner of UC Berkeley defines awe as “the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your understanding of the world.” (“How Awe and Everyday Wonder Can Shape Our World”)
It’s the moment our sense of “self” softens in the face of something greater, whether that’s nature, art, spirituality, or human connection. Keltner talks about how this softening—this emotion—“really gets us to be other-oriented, kinder, more focused on caring.”
These days, I am often asked about “suggestions” for sanity and healing and reparation. My answer “Today, let goosebumps astonish us”. Goosebumps—making space for the softening in our chest whenever we see humanity or kindness. So. Today, I invite and welcome the healing power of goosebumps. And yes, palette cleansing awe.
“We do not pray in order to escape the world around us,” Sister Joan Chittister reminds us. “We pray with one eye on the world so that we can come to understand what is really being asked of us here and now, at times like this, as co-creators of the universe.”
Meaning that awe can make us feel more connected—to other people and humanity as a whole. Awe has an amazing capacity to bring people together. Excerpt from Sabbath Moments
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