Does God Love the World or Not?
Just asking.
There is something that can be confusing in John’s writings. It can even seem contradictory. And it’s the way that John uses the word “world.” The word is used over 70 times in the gospel of John.
For one, we know well John 3:16, which tells us that God so loved the world. Herein, we would understand a favorable posture toward the world. But here in chapter 15, the world seems to be almost like an enemy.
While these two cherry-picked usages are not necessarily mutually exclusive, they do show us that the word is used widely and in different ways throughout.
And so, we often see Christians talking about “the world” in disparate ways.
It’s just something to think about.
John 15:18-27
“If the world hates you, know that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. However, I have chosen you out of the world, and you don’t belong to the world. This is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you, ‘Servants aren’t greater than their master.’ If the world harassed me, it will harass you too. If it kept my word, it will also keep yours. The world will do all these things to you on account of my name, because it doesn’t know the one who sent me.
“If I hadn’t come and spoken to the people of this world, they wouldn’t be sinners. But now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me also hates the Father. If I hadn’t done works among them that no one else had done, they wouldn’t be sinners. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. This fulfills the word written in their Law, They hated me without a reason.
“When the Companion comes, whom I will send from the Father—the Spirit of Truth who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me. You will testify too, because you have been with me from the beginning.
Prayer
God,
I’m praying for the world today.
A former president of the United States was almost killed today. That’s pretty big news. I guess it should be because his life matters to a whole lot of people, one way or another. Such an occurrence is indeed nerve-wracking, God. What are people capable of?
And yet, fewer people seem to know about the ~90 human souls killed and 300+ injured over in Gaza today. Those are pretty big numbers.
And there are many other things calling for my concern in these days in the world, Lord. Both near and far.
So help me, God: On this Sunday, the day of gathering for your people around the world, show us Jesus. Show us Jesus’ love for the world that we might live into it.
By your spirit & in Christ,
Amen.