Today’s Scripture:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” — John 3:16 (ESV)
Reflection
Today’s passage is probably the most famous Bible verse of all time: John 3:16 (and the verses after that!). For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. I just realized that the way I usually say it is actually the NIV translation, but whatever. This verse is a huge amount of theology just packed into one verse, so let’s try breaking that down. First of all, God loves the world. He doesn’t love the sin in the world, but he loves the people who live in it. In fact, he loved us so much, that he even sent down his only son to earth to die just for us. Jesus was the sacrifice so that we don’t have to go through eternal punishment in hell. The only condition is that we have belief in God to have eternal life. The question now is, how do we believe in God, and how are we sure of this? This is an amazing question, because the answer to this question highlights God’s love and awesomeness. How do we believe in God? It’s not something that we just decide to do; it’s something that God gives to us. We always say grace through faith, but it’s more like grace by grace, because God is giving us the means by which we receive God’s grace. That’s really cool to think about.
Verse 17 talks about how Jesus didn’t come to judge the world, but to save the world. Like it says in Luke 19:10, “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost,” and he did just that. In no way did he judge anyone for their sins, but he forgave everyone, converting them by his mercy, like the woman who was about to be stoned in John 8 (coming soon!).
The rest of the verses talk about the people who don’t believe in Jesus, for they are already condemned. Those people are in the darkness, and they hate the light, and are afraid of the light because they don’t want their evil to be seen. In contrast, those who live in truth live in the light, because Jesus is true, and the light brightens the good works carried out for God. It’s so important that our good works are carried out for God, and not our own self gain, because if it’s for ourselves, there is pride and underlying self approval. If the deeds are for God, then they please God, and they are more truthful.
I have a few key takeaways from this passage.
1. God’s love for us is more than I ever imagined, and it is proven by God’s actions and grace.
2. Jesus came to save the world, so why are we judging instead of trying to save others as well (I learned this lesson today).
3. Everything we do, we should do it in truth and for God.