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.
John 3:16 NIV
God Gave
According to recent data from the OECD, Canada’s humanitarian contributions totalled roughly $1.09 billion in 2021, accounting for approximately 15 per cent of Canada’s total developmental aid that year. The top recipients for humanitarian funding in 2021 were Syria at $90 million and Yemen at $85 million, where conflict has created circumstances described by GAC as “devastating” and “urgent.” Lebanon has also received a significant amount of humanitarian funding from Canada at $58 million following the 2020 explosion in Beirut, which compounded existing socioeconomic, political and pandemic crises.
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When I became an adult, I noticed that something changed. When I was young, I loved to get gifts. Christmas and birthdays were my favourite days of the year. I knew exactly where to look to find the presents my parents bought for me for those special events. When I became an adult, things reversed 180 degrees. I went from wanting to receive gifts to wanting to give gifts. There is no greater joy than watching those we love enjoy receiving the gifts we are carefully made or bought just for them. If that is how human beings operate, imagine how much more God loves to give. In what is arguably the best loved verse in the Bible, Jesus says in John 3:16: “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.” God had given us the greatest gift – the gift of Jesus. Through Him alone we experience forgiveness, peace, joy and eternal life. Your Creator loves you so much that He has given you Jesus.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley