“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
John 3:16, LSB
It is commonly said that this is the Gospel in a nutshell. We are reminded in it that our Lord gave of Himself for us. In our times of suffering and our realization of our sin, we need only to look to Jesus and look to the Cross and lay all of it down at our Lord’s feet. The graciousness of God is so great that He humbled Himself for us so that we would not perish. We would not have to die to Him eternally as we die to ourselves in this world. The broken world that we walk within needs to know You, Lord. You have given us Your Word to share so that all would have the ability to come to know You and Your forgiveness. Your desire was not for any to perish but for all to have eternal life. Sadly, You also know that not all will believe and trust in Your message, in Your hope. It is our calling as followers of You, Lord Jesus Christ, to proclaim this Gospel and pray that ears are opened and Your word sinks into the hearts of all who hear so that they will not perish, but have eternal life.
Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.