Well, does He? How’s that working for you?
Why am I asking? Because of what I have just discovered while reading The Passion Translation of John 3:17-20.
17“ God did not send his Son into the world to judge and condemn the world,
but to be its Savior and rescue it!
[Literal Aramaic: so that they shall live by His hand of power].
18 So now there is no longer any condemnation for those who believe in him,
but the unbeliever already lives under condemnation
because they do not believe in the name of God’s beloved Son.
19 And here is the basis for their judgment:
The Light of God has now come into the world,
but the hearts of people love their darkness more than the Light,
because they want the darkness to conceal their evil.
20 So the wicked [Literal Aramaic: those who do hateful things]
hate the Light and try to hide from it,
for their lives are fully exposed in the Light.”
Simmons, Brian (2014-09-23).
John: Eternal Love (The Passion Translation)
Do you see it, the currency of hate? When I read the Aramaic translation of “the wicked” is those who do hateful things, including hating the light because it exposes what they hate about themselves and do not want to see or have seen by others, it jumped out at me how hate is the currency of their belief system.
The ability to perceive God’s true intention is utterly distorted when hate is the currency that regulates a life. That distortion is so loud and thick it seems a very frightening thing to engage with the light that accompanies Gods presence and so people try to hide, just as is described in verse 19. They miss experiencing the light of God which is filled with His love and His desire to set them free from being captive to the lie that If they hate themselves, surely God must hate them as well. That is what the currency of hate perpetuates.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Hmmmmm – who would want you to believe God hates you and you need to hide? Might it be the thief that comes only to steal, kill and destroy? (John 10:10).
From my own experience I can attest there is absolutely no reason to fear or hate God’s light and what it reveals. It’s the only thing that can actually stop the insanity, remove the distortion and exchange captivity for freedom to discover who you truly are per the manufacturer’s specifications and plans.
It starts with the truth that you were made only a little lower than the angels (Psalm 8:5) and it just gets better from there! Yup, His plan is for each of us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2) in order to set us free from lies and distortion and to set us on the path of being transformed from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18) living by His hand of power (John 3:17 TPT above).
Such a deal. I’m in. How about you?
Hope Without Limits 