For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17 (NIV)
I was driving my son to school the other day along a road that winds through some bushland that is being turned into a housing estate. We came upon a group of people holding signs and protesting to the construction company that was cutting down the trees and levelling the ground. Their signs said, “SAVE THE EAGLE NEST”. They had set up camp around the tree that held this nest that, I figure, has been marked for removal.
These people don’t want the eagle, or it's nest ‘saved’ because it is inherently evil and needs to convert from the ‘dark side’ to the light. They’re not collectively pointing their fingers at the eagle saying, “Don't you know what could happen, you need saving, you bad bird…”
Their efforts are not coming from a place of condemnation, but of value and ultimately, love. I drove by again today, and they were still there. Their numbers are growing, the cause is gaining momentum.
God SENT Jesus into the world. Not begrudgingly or under pressure. He was not forced or tricked into doing it. It was His plan, His love, His gift. The gift didn’t arrive tied up with accusation and condemnation. Rather, it came wrapped in vulnerability, lying in a manger. A baby that would grow and experience life as we do. Its ebb and flow, highs and lows, monotony and unpredictability… He was one of us and one of God, the perfect combination to unite humanity and the Divine in such a way that sin could not infect it or corrupt it. He obliterated sin's degenerative powers upon our redeemed souls.
He came to save, not condemn. He wasn’t protesting against evil; He is the antidote… for and not against. He wants to save us from the corruption of evil because of how much He loves and values us. Condemnation is not part of His nature or this story. Not one bit.
As I passed that group of protestors and thought about why they could be doing what they are, I realised the answer can be found in how much they value that majestic, beautiful eagle.
The ultimate message found within salvation is that the journey from darkness to light is not only possible, but acceptable, anticipated and celebrated.
“Save the world” through love, because the world is worth saving.
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