If we take a look at the second most popular verse in the Bible, being JEREMIAH 29:11, God says: "For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to GIVE you a future and a hope." What are two of the most sought after things God can give us? A future. AND a hope. Of all the things that ultimately matter, what will make the most difference in the long run? Having a FUTURE. That there is something "after this". And what gets us through "these days" as we look forward to "that future"? HOPE. Besides love, first and foremost, the love of MATTHEW 22:37-39, there is nothing more valuable. And God GIVES us both these things. A future and a hope to partake for all eternity of what is the length and the depth, and height and the width, of LOVE eternal.

     That brings us to the most popular verse of the Bible. Which is JOHN 3:16. God says “For God so loved the world that He GAVE His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." So what are we talking about here again? Again we are talking about GIVING. God GAVE us His Son. And through giving us His Son, what did He effectively also give us? The Father of JOHN 3:16 gave us JEREMIAH 29:11. He gave us a FUTURE and a HOPE. 

     So the two most popular verses in the Bible, are firstly all about GIVING. There are no coincidences. And they are ALSO both about JESUS. In this way, they are intimately linked. They, therefore, also effortlessly link the Old Testament to the New Testament as a single, continuous and consistent message of hope, life and love. But what ELSE is JOHN 3:16 talking about? It's talking about "a future and a hope". Our HOPE is that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish. And if we don’t perish, what does that give us in return? A FUTURE. JEREMIAH 29:11 talks about exactly the same thing. It says "For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to GIVE you a future and a hope.” And it's because they both speak about HOPE and a FUTURE that they are also the two most well known scriptures in the Bible. For what man doesn't concern himself with his future? And what, then, is FAITH? Faith is the substance or evidence of things HOPED for (HEBREWS 11:1).

     God GAVE us His Son. And He also GAVE us "a future and a hope". And what is the price of that future to us? And that hope? It's JESUS. It's for free. And what does that future give us? Citizenship in a kingdom, the kingdom where there will be no more tears nor night. It's about "Thy Kingdom Come". God also says in MATTHEW 16:9, "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven". God GIVES us the keys to the kingdom, which are a FUTURE (Jesus) and a HOPE (Jesus). From this, we can see the central theme of God, of Jesus, of the kingdom, is GIVING which is the heart of love. Because after all, what Father doesn't want to give of all He has unto his own? And what does the giving of a Father represent? His unconditional and overwhelming LOVE.

     God the Father is the author and the finisher of LOVE. As such, love is all about GIVING. What is the way of the world all about? It's all about TAKING. The world places all its HOPE and its future in TAKING. "If I can only have more money, then I would have a future. If I can only have more time, then I would have hope." We don't need to TAKE a future and a hope. God freely GIVES it to us. And it is a real future and a real hope. One that supersedes everything that the mind could possibly conceive (ISAIAH 64:4). "However, as it is written, 'What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived' -- the things God has prepared for those who love him" - 1 CORINTHIANS 2:9. 

     And yet despite all this, man still places a higher value on the world than on the kingdom?

"Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen". - 1 TIMOTHY 1:17

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