During the mid 1900's the US automotive industry seemed to be competing to see who could build the biggest and most luxurious cars with extensive chrome trim and lots of leg room. These automotive monsters guzzled gas with little thought to an energy shortage or air pollution. Their large powerful engines required high octane fuel augmented with tetraethyl lead to prevent knocking. Little did they know that in a few years there would be a worldwide energy crunch and an environmental outcry against leaded gasoline. Even when there was a public demand for smaller, more economical vehicles, the manufacturers failed to respond to the trend toward smaller models until they were forced to do so by the growing popularity of the smaller foreign imports. Perhaps the most popular of these imports was a product of the Volkswagen automotive works in Germany. This little car had an odd rounded shape, a rear air-cooled engine, and it was an ideal vehicle for commuting; it was economical to operate, easy to park in small spaces, and got fantastic mpg. It became affectionately known as "the bug." In fact, a motion picture featured the WV bug as "The Love Bug."
In more recent times this title has taken on a different and more sinister connotation. Someone produced a computer virus designed to cause serious disruption of a computer's hard drive memory. This virus spread rapidly around the world in less than 24 hours via email. The title of "Love Bug" was so disarming and seemingly harmless and even attractive that people were deceived. The success of the virus reveals the deep longing of the human heart to be loved and accepted. It also demonstrates the vulnerability of our modern computerized society to the machinations of a rascally hacker. The virus was finally eradicated after millions of dollars of damage to equipment and hundreds of hours of reprogramming. There have been other computer worms and viruses since, but none have been so deceptive nor as widespread as "The Love Bug," which preyed upon the longing of every person to be loved.
God has placed a "love bug" in His Word that has resulted in the reprogramming of many readers. John 3:16 is one of the most popular and wellknown verses in all scripture. When that virus of God's love is implanted in our minds, it disrupts our way of thinking and living. The evil nature of our central hard drive is reprogrammed and we have a new direction in life. When we fully realize that the God of the universe loves us individually enough to sacrifice His Son as a guarantee of eternal life, then we really have been infected by the divine "love bug."
