A New Devotion - When Intentions Are Important

Here's a new devotion that I wrote. You can find a recording of this devotion at the bottom of the page.

John 3:17-21

“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

When Intentions Are Important

Normally, I don’t think our intentions are very important, certainly not when compared to what we actually say and do. For example, if I make a comment that hurts others, it really doesn’t matter that I didn’t intend to hurt them. Or if I take some kind of action that results in pain, it’s really not important that my intentions were positive. I mean, seldom do we intend for things to go wrong, but sometimes they do. And rather than trying to avoid or to ignore our accountability by hiding behind our intentions, I believe it’s important to take responsibility and face the consequences. You see, that’s only way we’ll ever learn and grow from our unintended mistakes. And so, in my opinion, our intentions aren’t all that important.

But I believe there’s one glaring exception to that rule. You see, I believe it’s important to understand that God’s intention for the world was salvation, not condemnation. And I’ll tell you, when we believe that, our perspective on ourselves and those around us will change. For example, we have no reason to hide from God, because we fear judgment. Rather, we can feel free to trust in Jesus Christ, the light of the world, because through him we can experience God’s forgiveness and salvation right now. And as we look toward others, we can believe that God intends the same thing for them as he does for us. You see, as it relates to his relationship with his creation, God’s intentions are extremely important.