The reason for the imparting of eternal life is that God is love. It is the nature of God to love, and God is faithful to that nature. This love impels the Divine Source to send the Son, one who shares this nature and whose very essence is this sharing.

Although the world is deeply connected to God, it is also deeply alienated. The Son has not been sent to condemn and thereby increase the alienation.

The mission of the Son is to strengthen the connection and allow eternal life to flow into created yet alienated existence. In this way the nature of God as self-giving will be realized in the estranged world.

from Gospel Light: Jesus Stories for Spiritual Consciousness