Comparative Gospel

Most of us who grew up in a church know John 3:16 and can recite it without even thinking.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

The entire Gospel is in that verse. God loves everyone in the world – each and every person. He sent His only Son, Jesus, into the world so that we could see God with a face. Then He let that Son die to take our punishment so that we can join the family of God. All we need to do is believe in this truth and accept it as the guiding pulse of our lives. When we do that, our eternal address will be changed from hell to heaven.

An interesting comparative verse appears in 1 John 3:16.
“We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for others.”

The Apostle John wrote both of these verses which underscore how Jesus gave Himself for us. He laid down His life – not just ascetically with His willingness to live in our wicked world, but also literally when He was tortured and killed. John repeated this truth in two of his books, using the same address of 3:16 – just so we wouldn’t forget.

The life and death of Jesus was and still is the prime example of love. To love someone with body, soul and spirit involves sacrifice – a willingness to cancel the desires of the self and think first of the other person. Most of us have difficulty with that. But Jesus went all the way to the cross and through the horrors of death for us. He mirrored love by making the ultimate sacrifice. Then He challenged us to love others with that same intensity and show the Gospel to them.

God Hears Your Cry

When we cry out in pain, does God hear us? I think anybody who has suffered, has at some point asked this question. We want to know that God is there, that He is listening to our prayers, and that He cares enough to respond to them. If He doesn’t respond right away, is He still listening? We need to know that He cares about the evil and the suffering that has happened, and continues to happen, in our lives and in the lives of others we know.

These questions have been in my heart, testing my faith, for the last few years. At times I feel distant from God, but it is this very same issue that draws me closer, searching for answers.

Genesis 18:20-21 (NIV) reminds us, “Then the Lord said, ‘The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.’”

God heard the cries of the victims who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah. Their prayers of petition came through loud and clear with an intensity that tugged on God’s heart and drew Him into action.

The same scripture is translated in The Message: “God continued, ‘The cries of the victims in Sodom and Gomorrah are deafening; the sin of those cities is immense. I’m going down to see for myself, see if what they’re doing is as bad as it sounds. Then I’ll know.’”

“The outcry…is so great…The cries of the victims…are deafening.”

I wonder how big God’s ears are and what kind of noise it would take to get His attention, let alone to be deafening. Since God is bigger than the universe, His ears must be humongous. God’s ears are so big that He hears the faintest cries, even the cries that stay hidden in our hearts for years.

He does hear us. He has heard my cry and yours. He knows the harm done to us, and He will take action on our behalf.

~ written by a GateWay woman

Making a Deposit

Every two weeks or at least once a month, most of us make a deposit in the bank. We trust that institution to use our money to help our communities, to grow our investments and to make a difference.

Psalm 31:5 repeats the words of Jesus on the cross, “Into Thy hand I commit my spirit.” Although we think of Jesus when we read these words, they were written here by King David. What did the Shepherd King mean when he penned this verse?

A notation in one translation reads that “commit” can be transcribed as “to deposit.” What a great idea!

To deposit our lives with God means to trust Him to make an investment with what we have given Him. He can use our gifts – our deposit – to make a difference in our community and our world, to grow what we have given Him, to use it for the benefit of others.

At GateWay of Hope, we have women who regularly deposit their traumas and crises into the loving hands of God. Then He does a miracle and makes something good come out of their trust. He multiplies their investments in a creative endeavor that makes a difference for eternity. Although they may not immediately see what God is doing, He works to get the most out of their commitments, because He knows the value of these women and He appreciates their trust in Him.

As we commit our spirits to God, He takes that deposit and turns it into something good – which increases our trust and builds hope.