It’s hard to read this title and not think of the 1966 Burt Bacharach song of the same name. The mid-1960’s was a time of social upheaval, student rebellion and the Vietnam war. As in the song, the call went out for more love as the answer for everything. Love has certainly always been needed, and especially when so many things in society are in a state of upheaval. But one must ask, does love really correct everything that’s wrong with the world? Can love alone bring sanity to crazed world leaders? Can it stop disease? Can it deal with the deep sins that lurk in the human heart? Can it give men and women jobs and affordable homes? Obviously not. More is needed.
Long ago, God sent a message into the world about what He would one day do, to deal with man’s worst troubles. Long before Jesus arrived, the prophet Isaiah foretold His coming and the message that Jesus would bring. He said, “A voice is calling, ‘Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness, make smooth in the desert a highway for our God’ …The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever” (Is.40:3, 8). The word of God, embodied in Jesus, is the message that stands for all time. It is so effective that it can solve our most deep-seated sins, if only we would listen.
The apostle John, after spending years with the Lord, later remembered what he heard and saw. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.” (John 1:4, 9)
Burt Bacharach meant well with his song about love, but the message of Jesus Christ goes much deeper. It deals with sin and provides salvation to produce the love for which the world longs. This is what the world needs now – and always has.
Have you heard and understood the message of life?
Barrie ON