John 3.16 (CEB)
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won't perish but will have eternal life. Salvation is a term that is life giving and extravagant. In it is the promise that our lives whatever it might be at the moment, is filled with hope. As followers of Jesus, Christians are invited to see in his life and words, death, and resurrection that we are not so much being saved from something; but instead, we are being saved to something. The Gospel of John understands salvation to be about abundance. And in the gospel we encounter several instances like when: Jesus turns water into a bunch of wine (John 2.6); Jesus feeds the 5000 men (not counting women and children) and the leftovers took 12 basketfulls to contain (John 6.12-13); Jesus talks with the thirsty woman at the well and offered living water so that she might thirst no more (John 4.14); And of course, like the extravagance that salvation is for all (John 3.16-17). Abundance for the Gospel writer means fullness and the sharing of it with one another. Salvation is eternal life that begins here and now and goes on forever. It includes you and me and everyone that God created. It is unwarranted to be sure, but it is ours to grab hold of and shapes everything about us. It is our beginning and our end. This salvation is what we breathe and live every day saving us to find life in excess. Sunday we are looking to the Old Testament reading from Isaiah and in it we will hear the call again and our response, “Here am I! Send me!” Grace and peace, Rev. Brian
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Rev. Brian
Husband, father, minister, child of God, follower of Jesus Christ writing in the context of La Porte Community Church Archives
November 2016
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