Saving the World
Did Jesus succeed or fail?
“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” - John 3:17
In the Gospel of John, we have the statement in chapter 3, verse 16, that Jesus came to bring eternal life to those who believe in him. But right after that, in the next verse, we have a different reason, or at least one that sounds like it could have a different meaning.
Jesus came, not to condemn, but to save the world.
How did he do? Did he succeed?
Well, we have no idea what the state of the world would be if he had not come. Surely there would be no Christians, and that means the Roman Empire would not have converted and the Holy Roman Empire would not have been created.
The world would truly be different. If it would still exist, that is.
We have no way of knowing what destiny lies ahead, just as we have no idea what was averted. We can only see the effects of what happens, not the avoidance of what doesn't.
So, we rely on faith. God so loves the world that He guides us to salvation, over and over again, in ways we can see and many more ways we cannot.
Jesus set us on a path that leads us to life, even though we veer off that path and find ways to capitalize on the power it brings us.
We can find many flaws in our history as Christians, with many examples of abuse of power and position, but we can also find many examples of love and kindness toward our fellow man.
The world is in a state of upheaval, with a power struggle over dominion and control, using God as the reason and belief as the sword. We question how God through his son Jesus would want us to act, and we believe we know the answers.
We could be wrong.
One thing Jesus made clear, though, was that loving our enemies can come at a price.
"You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved." - Matthew 10:22
So, we struggle to find the right balance. Out of love, I will lay down my life for family, friends, and country, and yet I struggle with the commandment to love one another.
One thing is certain. Jesus came to shake us up, to shift our focus from self to others, and to do it in a way that causes us to question and decide for ourselves, giving us parables to ponder and learn from.
Maybe the path to salvation of the world is the path that brings us to the table to talk about all the things we find conflicted and frightening in this world. Maybe we are supposed to figure this out together.
More to come...