“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16
This verse of scripture is one of the most well-known verses today. It’s seen on signs at sporting events. It’s seen on church advertisements. There are John 3:16 bumper stickers. I’ve even seen John 3:16 written in graffiti.
I wonder if, due to widespread exposure, this verse has lost its luster. Perhaps we’ve become de-sensitized to John 3:16. Perhaps we know it so well, like we know the Lord’s Prayer, we’ve forgotten to pay attention to what it’s actually saying. Maybe, like the steroid stories in baseball, we’ve heard the same thing way too many times, and we’d rather turn our attention elsewhere. Whatever it is, it seems as though John 3:16 has “jumped the shark.”
I think it’s time we really think about why we so desperately want the whole world to know this verse. What message are we trying to send by proclaiming John 3:16?
“For God so loved the world…”
God loves the world and all that is in it. God loves each and every person, cow, goat, sparrow, orca, rock, tree, grass, speck of sand, cloud, drop of water…well, you get the point. God loves the world without condition; love is what God does and love is what God is.
“…that he gave…”
We worship a God who gives. Our God is so in love with us that God cannot help but give us all that we have. And we do have it all, don’t we? We have more than enough, if only we’d share.
“…his one and only son…”
Jesus Christ is a gift by God to humanity. Jesus Christ is a gift given in absolute love. It is greater than any gift we can imagine.
“…that whoever believes in him…”
The gift is free, but it is not cheap. It requires nothing, but it requires everything. It only requires that we accept it, but in accepting the gift we give the power of the gift complete reign over ourselves and our lives. And, it is given for all. It is not given just for those who already believe, but is given for anyone who has the capacity to believe. And that means it is a gift offered to all people.
“…shall not perish but have eternal life.”
This is not a promise of immortality. It is a promise of relationship. It is a promise of a never-ending relationship with our creator, one who has already reached out to us in unconditional love and can’t help but continue to love us despite the fact that we are all wretched souls in need of grace. We don’t deserve God’s love, yet it is freely given to us without the promise that we will accept it.
John 3:16 is what we as Christians believe. It is often misused as a weapon against “whoever does not believe in him.” My hope is that we not use God’s word as a battle cry, but use God’s word as an invitation to experience the love of God free of human pressure or interference.
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