Generosity of God

John 3:16 (NASB) ¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. There are so many rich harvests we can glean from this verse.  But the rich possibility of seeing the Nature of God is there for those who respond to His gifting.  John saw the eternal side of the Jesus he loved when God opened his eyes to the spirit realm while on the isle of Patmos as a Roman prisoner.  This gave him a new understanding of the events he thought he knew when he walked with Jesus as His disciple. 

We measure everything we see by our capacity to understand.  If we have had experiences that encompassed a certain circumstance we are facing, we will have fear or confidence based on that past experience.  We may have searched for more information, have seen it echoed in others' experience, and that, too, is added to our reaction to the present challenge.  But we are limited, as mortals, living in this realm.  The evidence of God's love is first received by hearing or reading the Scriptures.  The Gospels, Acts and the Epistles were written by men who had only the Scriptures of the Old Testament.  Their entire knowledge to found the Church was gained from reading the Scriptures with the aid of the Holy Spirit and their experience of, or the witness by the apostles of, Jesus' ministry, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension .

We further come to experience the love of God by the personal relationship we have with Him by the Holy Spirit.  Our response to God's covenant of love by His Son, opens us to receive the fruit of His Nature as we yield to the Spirit's guidance.  But we are still limited.  Paul said we now 'see through a glass darkly,' but that we shall see clearly when we see face to face.  Whether we understand a little, more or much, we do not limit God in His capacity to give.  "When we were yet sinners, Jesus died for us!"  He has needed no help from us to create all things, give guidance to nations, send Jesus to this earth, and guide the church through the testing of mortal faith.  He is able to bring us to the "perfect day" and present us faultless to the Father!

In His love, He understands our origin of dust.  He knows the plans He has for us and He knows how to perfect His love in us.  He gives us freely of His peace and joy that we might walk in His love in every circumstance we face.