Today is Good Friday. It is the yearly observance of Christ’s death on the cross for the sin of the world. On this day, we are encouraged to meditate on God’s great love for us in sending Jesus Christ to be a sacrifice for our sin. 

This familiar verse from John 3:16 is often quoted:

Or, for those of us who desire more understanding of the words translated from the original languages they were written in:

I think sometimes we tend to twist that verse to mean that God will love you when you believe in Jesus. But a word search in Bible dictionaries and concordances, reveals that the word translated world means (among other things):

“the inhabitants of the earth, men, the human family, the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ.”

God loves everyone. Every single person. For some people that is hard to swallow. What about the murderers, the abusers, the terrorists, this person, that person, this group of people, that group of people? Yes, even them. And us – gossips, gluttons, complainers, disrespectful, prideful – you name it, we all fall short of God’s holy standard of loving Him with our whole being, and loving others as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40). None of us can, or ever will, measure up.

That is why God sent His Son Jesus. To pay our sin debt. To give us everlasting (eternal) life. Not just for a few select people who measure up, but for all of us who can’t. Who is eligible for this great salvation? The word “whoever” means all or everyone, so who does that leave out? Some people seem to take great delight in telling others they are “going to hell” because of some perceived fault or sin – their hair is too long or too short, they have tattoos or piercings, their lifestyle is not acceptable, they are divorced, addicted, drink beer, have or are a woman pastor… (you get the idea). They have their own criteria for who can be saved. 

Thankfully, Jesus said the only criteria is to believe in Him, trust in Him as Savior. Those are His words, not mine. That upsets a lot of religious people who want to believe they have earned their salvation because their behavior somehow measures up. I, for one, am glad Jesus doesn’t exclude me for my sin. You should be glad he doesn’t exclude you, for yours. We are all a work in progress after all.

We are still sinners, every one of us. But in His great love, God has graciously given us a way to be reconciled to Him through the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf.

As we contemplate Christ’s sacrifice on the cross today, my prayer is that we will be thankful we have not been excluded for our sin, and that we will see everyone as being a “whoever” – someone God loves enough to die for. 

Grace and peace,

Pastor Pam

Pastor Pam Sutherland

276-768-8421 pamsuth57@gmail.com

Usual office hours;

St. Paul UMC, Mon. & Wed. 9:00-12:00

Ft. Gibson UMC, Tue. & Thur. 9:00-12:00