God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

John 3:17

Dear God, my first introduction to this verse (the little known verse that follows the most famous verse in the Bible—John 3:16) was in church when I was in high school. As part of his benediction each week, our pastor would pick a couple of verses and and pronounce them over the congregation for a year. One year, he picked John 16 AND 17.

In this version, it says that you didn’t send Jesus into the world to “judge” the world. The NIV that my pastor used at the time used the word “condemn” instead. That’s the word that I hear when I hear this. And it was only recently that I put it together that Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus for this little rant. This is part of the whole “how can a person enter into his mother’s womb a second time” conversation. In the end, this encounter made a huge difference in Nicodemus’ life and it completely changed his trajectory.

That being said, it seems that you had a very specific purpose for sending Jesus into the world and it goes back to love. You are our father just constantly sending out love. My wife recently tried to describe the love that a parent has for their child to someone who has no children. They couldn’t understand why someone would absorb rejection and keep reaching out anyway. She told the young woman that there was really no way to explain it until she had children of her own. We have all rejected you and disappointed you so many times, and yet you keep reaching out, doing everything you can to be there for us and what we need.

Father, I am reaching back. I accept your love and I’m doing my best to return it. Being a father myself, I know that there is something to be said for earnestness, so I am sure my earnestness, inadequate as it may be, combined with your grace is enough for you. So thank you. Thank you for loving me.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen