there's love at the core‏

^{John 3: 4} Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,¹⁵ that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

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. 

A drilling project might try to find out what is at the very center of our earth. So far we have only scratched the surface going down a couple of miles when the center is another four thousand miles to go. What we know about God is that small: we have only scratched the surface. But, what we know about him from his Son, Jesus, gives us a confident estimate of what the Father is really like. Jesus is not just another visitor to the earth, he is the only begotten Son. He is not taking and giving, but only giving of himself. His life is love poured out for people to enjoy and to find real life.  His love is both strong and tender as we see on the cross tough enough to take the punishment and tender in forgiving his executioners. His love is the one thing that will save and redeem us and the entire world. At the core of our being there is a "God shaped vacuum" that only God can fill. Listen! I hear him knocking now! 

 Amen.