Washington Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president

There it was beside the highway.

A big pile of trash bags filled with garbage that the environmental cleanup volunteers had collected. No doubt inside those piles of bags were candy wrappers that once adorned a store shelf calling out to someone to purchase them for an afternoon snack. More than likely there were discarded cups or empty bottles of soda that no longer had the appeal they once did. There were scraps of metal and debris that had fallen from passing cars and trucks. There they were, all piled up waiting for the highway crews to come and collect them, and all of them would be off to obscurity and a slow decomposition at the landfill.

It was what was sticking out of the top of the trash pile, however, that stood out to me.

One of the discarded items was a sign. It was one of those signs that is stapled to a wooden stake and pounded into the ground. Even among the garbage, it was still proudly proclaiming it’s message. The message was simple, profound, and true. It said, “God is love.” As I sped by the pile, my eyes were drawn to the sign, and my thoughts reflected on that message.

Yes, God truly is love.

Think about how God wrote that message across the universe. He came to this world filled with sin. Sin may look attractive for a time. It may be all wrapped up in a shiny package, but in the end, it ends up discarding the very people it attracted.

This world is filled with sin—bags of garbage, so to speak.

God wanted to send the message that it doesn’t have to end that way. There is a better way. Jesus said,

Jesus then backed up these words by willingly laying down on the cross. He was lifted up above the sin filled earth and loudly proclaimed for the world to see that GOD IS LOVE.

God died for you. God rescued you from the pile that is headed to the dump. God provided the Holy Spirit as a comforter and guide to navigate the tough world. Let’s accept each day this God into our lives, and let us proclaim lovingly to all the world that GOD IS LOVE.