The Loving Controversy

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  John 3:16

As I brought up the love of God for the world He created yesterday, it is only fair that I bring up the controversy over this love. There are some in the world who hate this verse we examine once more today, John 3:16. Their hatred stems most often from some form of loss. If God so loves the world, they say, how come He lets people die by war, misfortune, murder, and other means? The patient in the hospital who has lost his health might ask why a loving God would allow such suffering in His world. However, it seems to me that all arguments against God's love boil down to one: If God loves me, why doesn't He run the world the way I want? That was of course the choice offered to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. One tree they were forbidden of all trees in the garden, and it was called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We know from further reading and experience that you might also call it the tree of I wanna go my way and not God's way. The name does not matter quite so much as that it was a choice. A choice given to Adam and Eve because love does not force but allows for the beloved to make a wrong decision, and they did. The love of God comes by way of a gift, His Son, and a choice - does a person believe in Jesus or not? 

Thank You, dear Lord God for your great gift in Jesus, your dearly beloved Son. 

Bucky