Reading I: Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9
Reading II: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13
GOSPEL: John 3:16-18

How Does God See the World?

How does God see the world? What does he see when he looks out over his creation, which he set in motion oh so long ago? Does God see a world filled with greed, violence, envy, and addiction?

The flood story in Genesis tells us that God was so disappointed with the sinfulness and violence of human beings that he pretty much destroyed everything and started over again. But the flood story is really a parable about how human evil can run rampant. The evil we do returns to us – we sow the seeds of our own destruction.

The Eyes of Love

For in today’s Gospel we read that when God looks out over the world he sees it with the eyes of love. He sees the innocence and wonder of children, he sees the sacrifice of parents for their beloved sons and daughters, he sees people wounded by sin in need of healing and hope, he sees those suffering from injustice working for a better world. And John tells us in these profound words, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17).

The Role of the Holy Trinity

The three persons who make up our one God each have a role, so it is that each person of the Holy Trinity reveals to us, in a different way, the love God has for the world. The Father’s creative power loved us into existence. Jesus showed us the depth of God’s love by his willing sacrifice for our sake. And the Holy Spirit gives us gifts to make us better lovers – lovers of creation, lovers of humanity, lovers of God.

I am too quick to condemn, too quick to judge. If God looks on the world with the eyes of such love, then I must strive to do so, too. If God sees the beauty, and wonder, and possibility in every human being, then I must work to do that, too. Otherwise I may end up like the people caught in Noah’s flood – swept away by the rotten fruits of the evil seeds I sowed.

I think the better choice is to try to see the world as God sees it – with eyes of love!

Life Application:

Where do I need to see the world more as God sees it?
What person or what situation do I need to see through the eyes of love?
What bad things have I done that have come back to haunt me?

Original article by Brian Singer-Towns, 2005 – 2020.
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