The Verse: The World

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Have you ever read interesting facts about the world and the people that live in it? For example, Best Life Online says, "the entire world's population can fit in Los Angeles if they are standing shoulder to shoulder." Or, you might be interested to know that, according to Best Life Online, "the longest place name on the planet is 85 letters long."  The town is located in New Zeland, called, Taumatawhakatangihanga-koauauotamateaturipukakapikimaung-ahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu." (Try sounding that out)

Many amazing facts about the world will blow your mind. But it all started "In the Beginning." Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Some will propose God did not create the world. Instead, it was formed by a big bang. But we Christians know that anything created must have a creator. Since the world was created, we believe there was a Creator, and that Creator is God.

Later in Genesis 1, we read, "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." (Genesis 1:31a). God was happy with His creation as He saw it to be "good." Because God is perfect, He had to create this world as perfect.

We know the perfection in the world did not last long as man corrupted it with sin. In the New Testament, Paul says, "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned." (Romans 5:12)

Therefore, we have a problem, and that problem is sin. I currently work in the kids' ministry department at a church in Texas, and we define sin as "anything we do or say that displeases God."

Now, who has sinned? Thankfully, Paul clears the confusion by saying, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Last I checked, "all" means "everyone." I have sinned, and you have sinned.

To conclude, a way to describe this world is "Created perfect turned imperfect." Thankfully, God did not leave us in this state. Next week, we will look at who God gave us so we might be made right.

But we must address the bad to appreciate the good.

Sources: NIV Application Bible, Best Life Online