Daily Reflections ...

Human beings like to feel good, to hear good news, to feel safe and secure and to believe that everything is fine all the time. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world….” is a feel-good bible verse and is one of the most quoted scriptures of all time. It is often presented as feel-good rather than the sobering reality check that it is.

Certainly, there is a message of hope in the words, “everyone who believes in him… may have eternal life.” But Jesus doesn’t stop there. Jesus goes on the say that the “light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.” (John 3:19)

Personally, I enjoy a good feeling, a cup of hot cocoa on a winter’s day, a friendly smile on a brisk walk, a surprise party on your golden birthday. I think we all do. We’re made for heaven. That’s great, if it doesn’t eclipse the reality that we as human beings are at risk of preferring darkness to light. It’s easy to prefer comfort to truth.

Jesus cares more that we stay out of danger than that we feel good, at least while we sojourn through this life. That is why he offers us this premonitory message. If there’s one thing that all the parables and teachings of Jesus have in common, it’s the call for metanoia, a change of mind: conversion. Jesus calls us to abandon the darkness and come to the light. God gave his only begotten Son, he has done his part, now it’s time for us to do ours.

by David Kruse