So must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved….. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light

— The Gospel According to John

What if instead of believing that you were randomly born into a meaningless universe you felt that you chose to be born?   That you poured yourself into creation as an act of love and redemption?

What if, knowing the suffering and trials of this world, you chose to be born anyway?
That in you is a deep understanding and acceptance of the suffering of Man, and also deep YES to life.  In you is a deep affirmation of life and a joyful participation in the world – in sorrow and joy.

What if you chose your parents, chose the time and place of your birth? Chose your strengths and limitations? Perhaps you drew and were drawn to the soil most suited to your journey, your quest for redemption….

What if you weren’t born in order to be punished, or because of past karma’s, or in order to fix yourself?
You are not born a sinner, and the feelings of inadequacy that were inflicted upon you by others were themselves afflicted by the same disease.

What if we chose to be here because we so loved the world that we poured ourselves into it?   To make ourselves and existence whole. To reveal the divinity even in the deepest suffering.

What if life is a great gift – given by God to us, given by us to God, given to existence, from existence, and for existence?

You are the only begotten Son of God, and you are the God who sacrifices your only son.
You are the eternal truth, yet you chose to incarnate. You desired to take on human form in order to manifest love.
You are the Son of God, who willing offers to enter the world of time and space. Who joyfully is born in order to taste the juices of life and dissolve the false distinction between matter and spirit, between life and death.

You come to redeem and you also are redeemed.

The redemptive love is to reconnect with the ground of our being and discover unconditional love. Not that we are loved by some creator, but that we are that fundamental reality and that fundamental reality is love.
Not that God loves me, but that I am Godliness itself.  Not that God is loving, but that God is Love.

Affirm your participation in the story of life, in the play of existence. You were not marooned on this earth by accident. Some great urge, longing, and love has brought this about.

Eternal life is your inheritance. The only sin is to love darkness rather than life, to squander the great gift you have given yourself.

If we listen deeply enough, existence is saying to us and we are saying to ourselves and all of creation:

“This is how I love you.
And this is how you in turn shall love all things and all beings.”