“God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was, He came to help, to put the world right again.”  (John 3:17 Msg)

 Jesus did not come to the earth to accuse us of wrong doing, as many would presume.  He did not come to point the finger and send us to hell.  Yet, that is how many in the world see Him - as an angry God, who expects much, demands even more and is ready and waiting to mete out punishment on those who fail to measure up to His standards.

 But the truth is, God is in no way like that.  The Bible says that He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.  God is the essence of love.  There is no greater lover than He.  He did not come to condemn us, He came to save us – to put the world right again!

 What do we need saving from?  From ourselves, and the devil, but mainly from a life lived apart from the beautiful relationship we could have with Him.

 “In the beginning” we see the way it was meant to be, before Adam and Eve disobeyed God and thus allowed sin to enter the world.  Adam and Eve daily walked with God in the garden.  As they did this, they shared their hearts, loving and being loved in complete intimacy and transparency with the Father.  They had nothing to hide and nothing to separate them from walking together with their Creator day by day.

 That is the way it’s meant to be!  Even now.  That is what God created us for.  We will never be fulfilled, not one of us, until we walk into that place of intimacy with the Father.

 That is what it means, in the Message, when it says, “He came to put the world right again.”  He came to bring us back to that place of intimate communion with God the Father. This begins through simply trusting in Jesus’ provision of salvation – freely offered and freely given. 

 All the pain in the world, all the evil we see in abundance is not his fault and is not his plan, as many would believe.  He grieves for the way things are.  He longs to make things right.  It is we who have allowed the enemy to prevail, through our sin.

 It is we whom God uses to right things, to advance His Kingdom, His goodness and His ways.  He uses us – the ones who have trusted in Him, the ones who belong to Him.  That is His plan!  We are called to advance His Kingdom on the earth – “His Kingdom come.”  We are called to defeat the plans of the evil one. This is not as difficult as it seems, for “Greater is He who is in us, than he who is in the world.”   

 It’s awesome that God chooses to use us.  He allows us to share in His glory.  He enables us to partner with Him to right the world again, to bring His love, His joy, His peace, His power and so much more.  He uses us to invite people into this beautiful relationship with the One who will fill the void inside, the One who loves them beyond imagination and has so much prepared for them that they could not even begin to comprehend.

 “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”

 This is what God desires for us and for every person on the earth.  He wants to bless us beyond measure.  He wants to give us joy unspeakable, full of glory.  He wants us to be in intimate communion with Him for He knows that is where we will find our greatest joy. What an amazing God He is!