The Heart of God

I sat in the café, a cup of coffee and a scrumptious breakfast burrito before me. For some reason, I always find it easier to spend time with God and do a little Bible study when I’m not at home.

As I ate and read, I got a prompting on the inside to tell my waitress that God loved her. Talk about uncomfortable. I just barely met this lady. But as she came back to check in on me, I mustered up the courage and told her.

“Thanks, but I’m an atheist,” she replied.

Talking with her a little bit more, I found out she wasn’t unfamiliar with Christianity—her dad was a deacon. But her view on Christianity was saddening. She believed it was all about doing everything right in order to eventually end up in Heaven.

In that moment, as God was reaching out to let her know He loved her, the waitress was unable to accept it because of a false belief.

Ironically, that same day I was reading John 3. I quickly came upon one of the most famous verses in all Christendom – John 3:16.

While most people know that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,” we seem to forget the next verse— one which so plainly displays God’s heart.

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

Or as the Message puts it, “God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.”

Yet many people, just like my waitress that day in the café, believe the exact opposite.

No, God isn’t sitting in Heaven, watching to see if you do everything “good enough.” God made us to completely and utterly rely on Him, not to strive to be perfect on our own. He knew we could never be “good enough,” but loved us anyway and still made a way for us to be connected with Him forever.

He sent His only son to take our place. And, if we open up our Bible and take a look at how Jesus lived life, we’ll see first-hand that He did not come to condemn.

One day, some religious leaders of Jesus’ time caught a woman in adultery, and brought her before Jesus (John 8:1-11). They wanted to see what kind of punishment Jesus would hand out. This woman was completely in the wrong, had violated the law, and deserved death by stoning. Would Jesus condemn her?

“The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone,” He replied.

One by one, each of the religious leaders left. They were all guilty of sinning. Just like this woman, none of them were perfect. Finally, it was only the woman and Jesus who were left.

“Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?”

“No one, Master.”

“Neither do I,” said Jesus. “Go on your way. From now on, don’t sin.”

We see forgiveness fully on display, not condemnation. The woman caught in adultery didn’t deserve to be forgiven. But Jesus let her go, giving her a second chance. Just like when He gives us a second chance, third chance, or seven hundred and seventy-seventh chance.

And there are many example of God’s love in the Bible: King David, the Samarian woman, the Jewish nation, the apostles Peter and Paul—the list goes on and on and on.

God wants us to experience His love personally. It’s not a love that points a finger of condemnation. It’s a love which reaches out to us in our worse circumstance, lifts us up, and wraps us in His tender embrace. It’s a love that says, “No matter what you do, I will never stop loving you.”