God Loves Us

Advent Midweek Part 1

December 1, 1999

          What a way to conclude 1999! Finding a house, traveling, moving, settling, again. What a way to end the millenium! It makes a person wonder if it isn’t just a bit foolish. Perhaps, but then, God’s will is foolishness to the world. The world just doesn’t get it. So, for our Advent meditations, I’ve chosen Jn. 3:16. This verse is often referred to as the Gospel in a nutshell: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

          Tonight we want to focus particularly on the first three words: God, “God so loved.” You wouldn’t think “God” would need much emphasizing, especially in the Christmas season. But if you asked anyone what this Christmas season is about spiritually, what responses do you think you might get? Let’s see. Christmas? It’s about love. It’s about caring for the needy. It’s about peace on earth. It’s about goodwill among people. And we haven’t even talked about Santa Claus and presents and cookies and family visits and so forth.

Christmas is about Us

          Think about this list—there’s nothing wrong with it, especially the cookies, they’re probably low-fat anyway. But the list is all about us. It’s about what we do, what we desire. There is some good in what we do and what we desire; recommitting ourselves to each other; giving to the needy; talking about love and goodwill and peace and family. Surely these are all good reasons to celebrate.

          It is good and necessary, but it ignores God. In all these things, we praise ourselves, not him. We admire how good we are, what good things we do, what love and commitment we show. These things make us feel good about ourselves.

          Perhaps they should. But consider this: Anyone can do these things, whether Hindu or Muslim or atheist. So what’s the difference? We all have “requirements of the law … written on [our] hearts,” our “consciences also bearing witness” to the good things we do, or don’t do. But, that’s not peculiarly Christian. Doing good things is a part of every society and every religion. They all teach love and goodwill and peace and unity.

          No society can exist without these teachings, and every society has an annual celebration emphasizing them. But this is social goodness. This is social survival. This is religion in the service of community goodwill. There is nothing wrong with it, but it is not Christmas. It is not Christian. It is not godly.

Is It Idolatry?

          In fact, it easily becomes idolatry. We make ourselves  into gods. We praise ourselves. We set up our own standards of goodness, and when we meet them, we admire ourselves for being so loving and giving and caring. In this way, we create our own god and—wonder of wonders—he looks and acts just like us! What foolish goodness to congratulate ourselves on.

          Only God’s goodness is real. The message of Scripture is that you and I are not the source of goodness. James tells us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights” (James 1:17).

          What is goodness? The goodness you and I experience and applaud ourselves for is the sin-ridden goodness of our fallen world and sinful human nature. True goodness is only in God. Scripture speaks of it time and time again. The Lord says, “… my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’” (Is 55:8-9). “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! (Rom 11:33). “I am God, and not man” (Hos 11:9). “If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself” (2 Tim 2:13).

          This alone is our source of comfort and confidence in life and in death. It only comes from God who, not only forgives, but also forgets our sins because of Christ. “I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Jer 31:34). He takes our sin and weakness and rebellion and swallows it up. It’s gone—forever. That’s goodness. That’s love. That’s divine. That’s the goodness of Christmas. “God so loved.”

Loved the World

          It is significant that John says God so loved the world. You see, the world in John’s Gospel is the enemy of God. It’s the world that won’t recognize and receive him (Jn 1:10-11). It’s the world that will hate us, his followers (Jn 15:18). It’s in the world that we will have ongoing tribulation (Jn 16:33). Satan is the “prince of this world” (Jn 12:31).

          Even so, in John’s Gospel, Jesus is “the Savior of the world” (Jn 4:42). He “Takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). He is “the light of the world” (Jn 8:12). And in this Christmas text, “God so loved the world…” What a tremendous comfort that is—because the world is me. I often don’t recognize and receive him. I often let Satan control the direction and priorities of my life. The holy, righteous God of the universe, the Creator of all things, the Judge of all eternity should be revolted by the world in me. He should condemn and reject and punish the world and me.

          And that’s just what he did in Christ. Jesus Christ is the unblemished Lamb of God. Jesus Christ gave his life as the perfect sacrifice so that the angel of death would pass over us. God’s righteous judgment and wrath had to be fulfilled. But instead of it falling on you and me, it fell on Jesus. He was consumed in God’s holy wrath so that you and I can stand free and forgive and righteous before God—purely by grace.

          God is not like us. God is good. He does not love as we do. He does not forgive as we do. His ways are not our ways. As far as the heavens are above the earth, so far is His surpassing love beyond ours (cf. Ps 103:10-11).

We Love Him

          Out of that love, we also love. Out of that love He makes us his dearly beloved children. Out of that love we are empowered to pray to him, to trust him, and to seek him in all that we do. Out of love, even when we fail and fall back into old habits of being ashamed to speak up for him, even in this season of his birth, and when we spend money on dozens of useless things but give so little to him, and when we give a pittance to the poor and the needy, then pat ourselves on the back, even then God says, “I love you.” And His love melts our cold hearts, breaths new life into us, for no other reason than this: “God so loved the world.” Isn’t that incomprehensible? Isn’t that unreasonable? Isn’t that unimaginable? Isn’t that superhuman? Indeed it is! And that’s goodness. That’s God.

          So, during this Advent season and beyond let’s think of that. Let’s think of how He came into the world weak and alone and one with us. Let’s think about how He did this to bring God’s love right home into us. Let’s think about the Christ Child being born in us today, in us, in our world, in our failure and in our rebellion and weakness. In Word and Sacrament He comes to us again and again to assure us and to bestow His heavenly goodness upon us for no other reason than this: “God so loved the world.”  Amen.