"How Can God Love Everybody?"

Pastor Laura Guy

April 20, 2008

Here's an instant replay of what happened in worship:

We read a letter from a child named in Nan in which she wrote, "Dear God, I bet it is very hard for you to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it." Nan is really asking how it could be possible for God to love everyone - all 7 billion of us.
We recognized that God is much bigger and more powerful than our minds can grasp. We looked at pictures that demonstrated the size of our earth compared to other planets and stars. We realized that the God who created all of that and more could certainly be capable of loving billions of people - and even those who have come before us and those who are not yet born.
We also wrestled with the question of how God could love unlovable people - especially ones who do evil things. The truth is that all of us are unlovable at times in our lives. All of us choose to do things that hurt others, hurt ourselves and hurt God. But Jesus came to show us a better way to live - a way that leads to love and not hurt. And he told us about our heavenly Father who is always looking down the road, waiting to welcome a prodigal home. Whenever any of us is ready to leave behind our pigpen, the garbage of our life, God is ready to run to us and forgive us.
We read Romans 5:6-8 and saw how Jesus died for sinners, for those who are ungodly. We watched a video of a song called Never Been Unloved that showed us that amazing love. (You can watch a preview version here.)
We shared communion at the table of love, remembering that Christ shared his broken body with broken people so that we could be made whole.