BECAUSE GOD LOVED THE WORLD

Do not be afraid, land of Judah; be glad and rejoice. Surely the LORD has done great things! Do not be afraid, you wild animals, for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches. Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. —Joel 2:21–23

We tend to personalize the invitation and promise of John 3:16, yet the language Jesus used also gives it the widest possible meaning: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son” (emphasis added). The Greek word for “world” is kosmos, which can be understood and translated as “all of Creation” or “the whole created order.” So, there is more profound theology in this simple, well-loved verse than we sometimes notice.

God sent His Son to offer eternal life to humanity—for the sake of His love for the whole of creation. This would restore the relationship between Himself and human beings, which in turn would restore the broken relationship between human beings and the world around them. Like the other Hebrew prophets, Joel also pointed forward to a time when God’s people would be fully and ultimately restored. He offered this hope in contrast to the ravages of the enemies that had beset Israel, consuming the nation and destroying it as implacably as a swarm of locusts. But Joel, too, offered a holistic portrayal of what God’s Messianic intervention would look like—all that had been lost and broken would be restored.

The land would no longer be afraid; rather, it would rejoice because of what God had done. The wild animals would no longer be afraid, and the trees and plants would flourish. Amid all of the restoration and re-creation, God’s people would also rejoice at the faithfulness and abundant goodness of God. Because God so loved the world—and His people.