Lesson from Fr. Paulus | God Cares

You never really know someone until you know what's in their heart - what motivates them, what they're looking for, why they do what they do.

In the Gospel passage we just listened to, Jesus lays bare the heart of God.

Jesus is talking with Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, Israel's ruling body. It is at night - Nicodemus was afraid to come to talk to Jesus during the day-time, afraid to be seen with him. Maybe they are sitting around a campfire, or at a table with an oil lamp on it, casting restless shadows on their faces.

What message does Jesus give to this confused and fearful Jewish leader?

The history of salvation, from the fall of Adam and Eve until the final judgment, revolves around the coming of Jesus Christ, the Savior, the Son of God. Why did he come? Because the Father sent him. Why did the Father send him? Because he "loved the world so much." God simply couldn't bear to see us perish in our sins; he longed to share with us his everlasting life. He cares. God cares.

And Jesus Christ is the definitive proof that he cares.

He cares so much that he is willing to sacrifice his only Son to atone for the sins that have separated man from God, the source of all good things. We need look no further to find the very core of the Gospel: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish, but might have eternal life."

No hidden agenda, no selfish undertones - pure generosity. This is the heart of God, of the Lord who longs for our friendship. Only when we internalize this fundamental motive of God does our Christian adventure really begin.