The Great Truth
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John 3:16-21
16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. 18. He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20. For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21. But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God.
John 3:16 is one of the best known and most frequently quoted scripture passages! There is a pro wrestler who uses an adaptation of this to refer to himself! I think that the familiarity may be why the verse seems to have lost some of its “punch.”
God so loved the world. He loves us desperately; passionately; tenderly; beyond human imagining. He sacrificed His Son. His desperation is not out of fear that we won’t love him back—its desperation that we will grow and learn to love him before the end of the world. He so passionately and tenderly cares for us that he longs to have us with him in eternity. He doesn’t want us to miss out on the promise of salvation. His love is the great truth that motivated his plan to send Christ to us.
Whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. That part of the verse eliminates our concern about what we’ll be leaving behind; about how we’ll be remembered. A well-loved child of God, seeking the light of salvation and the radiance of the face of God--that’s what I wait for, live for, hope and trust will be my fate. I struggle daily with the “darkness” of human nature. I rail against the corruption and greed, the hatred and the self-centeredness of corporate moguls, political leaders, military commanders, athletes and actors and musicians – all of whom mankind turns to in the hope of finding a model for living. And it is right and just that I do so.
But when I look in the mirror, when I stop to reflect on my own part in the ills of the world, I must confess my own sin. I must admit that I am not patient with those whom I love the most. I am not kind to the annoying neighbors and acquaintances that want to invade my personal space and time. I am not gentle and loving with myself. I do not do enough to protest and fight the bigger evils in the world. And yet I bow down in gratitude and awe that there is a God who loves me and blesses me for my admissions. His Son took all of my sin and the sin of the world upon himself. For God so loved the world. . .
I hope you spend your day living what is true, relecting the light of Christ, doing deeds that have been wrought in God.
Mary
