I poured hundreds of scrabble tiles in the middle of a table. They made a wonderful sound like the hiss of a steam engine. I waited for the children to come visit me as part of their rotation of learning. I looked at all the letters thinking that all the words ever spoken, all the sentences ever written were just a shifting around of these few building blocks. I asked for help from the children. I was playing the part of Paul. He was about to address the people of Athens and he was looking for the words to share that might help people come to know about Jesus.
The older children quickly dug letters out of the jumble and rearranged them. Words emerged: Grace, Faith, Savior, Messiah, Worship, Eternal Life. One at a time they told about the words they had selected and why “Paul” should use these words in his sermon. They were excited to help and filled with passion.
One of the children, on the cusp of literacy, shuffled his tiles. He read out loud, “God Loves Everyone!” His was the most concise sermon, the most complete message and the most startling news. Paul was addressing the philosophical elite, the trained thinkers and the religious leaders. My little friend got it right.
There is one God, God’s very nature is to love, and that love has no limits.
When the message sinks in deeply, the world changes. Each time it is received, it is life.
“For God so loved the world.” That was the the energy, the purpose of what God did. That is what God was trying to communicate. That is what God wanted everyone to know.
The words are not all spelled right, but the message is clear and true may each know it at the core of your being. You are loved.