https://odb.org/2026/07/13/drastic-measures-2
John 3:16–21 (NIV): 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. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
Daniel was born into a Romanian orphanage. For seven years, he only left his crib to go to the bathroom. When he turned eight, a family from another country adopted him. They knew about attachment disorders—that Daniel could have difficulty attaching to them as his parents. Slowly, Daniel started to trust them. Over time, though, he began to rage to the point his parents hired a bodyguard to protect them from Daniel’s outbursts. They decided on a controversial therapy: For the next five years they were never away from Daniel even if he had a meltdown. On his thirteenth birthday Daniel broke down and, for the first time, told his parents he loved them very much. His mother summarized the experience: “Creating love is not for the soft and sentimental. Love is a battlefield.” (John Blase, Our Daily Bread 13th July 2026)
Many people are familiar with John 3:16, which describes the scope of God’s love for the world: “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.” Many, however, misinterpret this verse. They think that if God’s love is so great, no one will “perish.” The critical phrase is “whoever believes in [Jesus].” John also writes, “Whoever does not believe [in Jesus] stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (v. 18). (Tim Gustafson, Insight, Our Daily Bread 13th July 2026)
A difficult child is something every family dread but some cannot avoid. Some families have a child with disability or a debilitating neurological illness. Or there are families with physically normal children but anti social behaviour like youths who withdraw from society and can’t function in the community or those who mix with the wrong company and ended up on the streets in crime and drugs. I know of someone with a child who is destructive, abusive and out of control against her parents but behaves normally in a psychiatric ward.
The thing is all these families with less than ideal children will not abandon their child. They will love their child come what may and sacrifice their time, money and even vacations for their special needs child. I have a friend who is a business owner but has never been abroad for a holiday as a family because their second child has a neurological disease that needs constant care. They want to be constantly at his side to feed him and attend to his needs.
Thus, John 3:16 demonstrates God’s love in the sense that no matter how horrible we may be as human beings created by Him in His image (like we may totally ignore Him in our haughtiness), He still loved us by sending His one and only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, to die for our sins that whosoever believes in Jesus shall not perish but have life everlasting. God’s love is akin (but much more) to those families and parents who loved their child and sibling regardless of his or her special needs. As difficult as they may be to love like those who are abusive and violent, they are still loved. We may be an atheist and do not believe in the existence of God, yet God still loves us. You may believe in other gods and not the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob but God nevertheless loves you. Salvation however is only through belief in Jesus Christ, His one and only Son.
Have a good week, everyone! Every day brings its own set of challenges and struggles. Seek Him and pray that His grace and mercy be upon us that He will grant us wisdom and discernment to deal with issues at work and in our family! Amen!
Ronnie's Thoughts 