For God So Loved the WORLD…

For those who celebrate Easter

For God So Loved the WORLD…

For God so loved the WORLD… not just a nation, not just a people, not just the “right kind” of believers—but the whole messy, magnificent, complicated planet. A world not defined by geo-political borders or national flags, but by the shared breath of humanity. A world where no passport is required to be loved, and no border wall can keep grace out.

For God so loved the WORLD… a world without race or ethnicity as lines of division. A world where melanin isn’t a marker of worth and language isn’t a litmus test for belonging. Where the infinite creativity of God is celebrated in every skin tone, every accent, every cultural tradition—not feared or erased in the name of supremacy.

For God so loved the WORLD… a world where gender isn’t weaponized and love isn’t legislated. Where LGBTQIA+ people aren’t pushed to the margins of the pews or the laws, but embraced at the center of the table. A world where our differences aren’t threats—they’re holy reminders that the Divine doesn’t do copy-paste.

For God so loved the WORLD… a world without walls of exclusion, whether they’re built with bricks or with theology. A world where the doors of churches are flung wide open—not for power, not for political gain, not for preserving some cultural nostalgia—but for embodying the radical, reckless hospitality of Christ.

For God so loved the WORLD… that God came not to dominate it, but to heal it. Easter isn’t about conquest. It’s about crucifying everything in us that clings to power over people. It’s about putting to death the ignorance, the fear, the hate, the prejudice—the sin—that keeps us from recognizing the divine image in every neighbor and stranger.

For God so loved the WORLD… that resurrection is not just an event—it’s a revolution. It’s the uprising of joy over despair, peace over violence, kindness over cruelty, self-control over indulgence, and love over hate. It’s new life that cannot be co-opted by empires or elections. It’s the Spirit breaking chains, not reinforcing cages.

But somewhere along the way, we got confused. Some now worship the flag more than the cross. They’ve traded in the Jesus who wept and washed feet for a Jesus who waves a rifle and wins elections. This isn’t Christianity. It’s Christian Nationalism—an ideology that wraps empire in Scripture and calls it holy.

This counterfeit gospel says “America First,” but the Gospel says the last shall be first. It demands loyalty to a party or a personality, but Jesus demanded justice for the poor, the widow, the immigrant. It glorifies white supremacy, patriarchy, and militarism—but Jesus flipped the tables of the gatekeepers of grace, and destroyed systems of oppression.

Christian Nationalism whispers, “Power is the way.” But Easter shouts, “Love is the way.” Not love as a sentimental slogan, but love as sacrifice. Love as justice. Love as liberation. Love that rolls away stones and shatters tombs and tears down every wall we’ve built to keep others out—or to keep God in.

For God so loved the WORLD… and if that’s not the world we’re loving too, then maybe it’s not the Gospel we’re living.

Happy Easter!