John 3:16-17 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Here we have one of the most familiar verses in all of scripture. Verse 16 has taken the world by storm, and while many are familiar with the reference, it’s fair to say that not as many people know what the verse is, or what it means. Perhaps it has become so appreciated because it talks about God’s love for us. After all, who doesn’t want to be loved?
It is important to then ask, what kind of love has God extended towards us? The answer is that it is a very merciful and gracious love, and one that is mostly unappreciated. Regardless, God loves the world. He cares for us and has affection for us. We are his creation after all, born in his image, made to be in relationship with our creator.
Because he knows us and sees the true falleness within us and the world, his love causes him to do something about it. What is God’s loving response to our sinfulness? He sends his only Son, Jesus, to take our sin upon himself and die in our place. If you are a parent, imagine that you have a friend who is a horrible person. One day you and your son or daughter are walking with this friend, who you know is a terrible person but you are trying to love them well, and they step into the street to cross the road. You see a car coming and the driver of the car is not paying attention at all. Your friend is too far ahead for you to do anything about it, but your son or daughter is close enough to try to push your friend out of the way.
Would you be willing to send your child into harm’s way, knowing they will probably get struck by the car and killed in order to save your friend’s life? Talk about a difficult question to answer! This is what God has done for us, and that kind of love is a profound love that is beyond our human comprehension. You see, God didn’t send Jesus into the world to condemn horrible people, but to save them. Whether God condemns any of us or not depends on how we respond to this great act of love that he has shown the world through Jesus.
If you believe in the Son, Jesus, and what he has done for you, then God has promised eternal life. What is so wonderful about this eternal life? This loving God will be with us forever, and we will be with him. Sweet relationship will be ours for an eternity. However, if we reject the Son, then we stand condemned. We have chosen to ignore his love for us in this life, which means that we will spend an eternity away from his love after we die.
There may be no greater thing you can think about today than God’s great love for you and how he displayed that love through Jesus. If you believe it, rejoice in the eternal relationship you now have with your God. There is no greater hope than this. God has given us a way out of condemnation for our sin, and we truly would be blind fools to ignore or reject such a merciful and gracious love.
