Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in obedience to him. – Psalm 128:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (September 19, 2019): Psalm 127 & 128

John 3:16 might be the best-known verse in the Bible, or at least in the top three alongside “The Lord’s Prayer” found in Matthew 6 and the Shepherds Psalm; Psalm 23. Much has been written and preached on John 3:16; 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. And sometimes we personalize the words of the Apostle. For God so loved (insert your name here) that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish. I can almost hear the encouragement of the evangelist; If you were the only one who needed to be saved, Jesus still would have died. And that is true. But unfortunately that is not what John says in this most famous of verses.

Personalizing John 3:16 renders a truth, but John’s fundamental truth is much stronger; For God so loved the world. He loves you and me – yes, but that is just the start of it. Some have tried to limit John’s words. They want to effectively change his words into “For God so loved the elect” or maybe “For God so love the men,” but the problem is that that is not what John wrote. John said “world.” And what if that is what he meant. No limitations. God loves the world. He loves you and me, and those who love us and as well as those hate us and are indifferent to us. For God so loved the world – no limitations.

John stands in good company. The message of the prophetic book of Jonah says the same thing. If you thought that the story of Jonah was about a whale or a big fish, then you might have missed something. The moral of the book of Jonah is found in the final verse of the story, and the story places that moral in the mouth of God. God’s message to Jonah was direct; “should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals” (Jonah 4:11)? Apparently “For God so loved the world” included even the evil people of Nineveh and their animals.

The Psalmist makes the same statement. It is clear, and we need to hear it. “Blessed are all who fear the Lord.” Blessed are all; everyone; the world. God’s blessing is not dependent on gender, race, class, education, or even how smart they are. What it is dependent on is whether or not we are willing to journey with God; whether we are willing to recognize the wisdom of God.

After all, God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only son. And that includes you and me, but it definitely isn’t limited to you and me.      

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Proverbs 1