John 3:16
Thoughts from Amanda Cook
Dive Deeper
“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
Behind the Scenes
This scripture is known all over the world, by both believers and unbelievers. College football phenom Tim Tebow had it written in his eye black. We see it on signs, cards, posters, billboards, tv shirts, and even on social media.
If we look back at the beginning of this chapter, we see Jesus is talking to one of the Jewish Pharisees, Nicodemus. This man was a member of the Jewish ruling counsel, so he came to Jesus at night looking for answers. No way he would be seen in broad daylight by his Pharisee homies talking to that blasphemer, but he had questions. Nicodemus was drawing his own conclusions about Jesus – that he was a teacher sent by God – but he wanted to know more.
In His conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus said that one must be “born again” talking of being born of the spirit and not the flesh. Of course, this really stumped Nicodemus, and the questions continued (see John 3:1-21 for the whole conversation). We finally get to John 3:16-17 “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (CSB) All Nicodemus had to do was to BELIEVE.
Make it Real
That word “believe” – so simple and yet so hard. I think there are different levels of belief in our world. I believe that I’m a good person. I believe that Jesus existed. I believe that God loves me. I believe that I’m going to heaven. But to truly believe in something, you have to put your WHOLE confidence in it. And this is where it gets hard.
Do I believe God is good even if tragedy strikes? Do I really believe God is good, even in the midst of the ugly? Does He really love me? Can He really love me – the good, the bad, and the ugly? Can I trust Him with my precious family? Can I trust Him enough to surrender my WHOLE self to Him? Can I do it openly without sneaking around in the dark or hiding it from my homies?
YES! You see, the reason all of this is even possible is because it does not depend on me at all! It’s not about what I can or cannot do. It’s not about how good I am. It’s not about the things I do. It’s all about HIM. He did the work so that the world would be saved – THROUGH HIM!
Want to hear something else that’s really cool? Take a look at Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.” We are part of the world that He created. We are part of the world He came to save. We are His workmanship. We are created IN Christ Jesus for stuff God already had in store for us.
THAT’S how much God loved us. So yeah, I can believe. I can trust. I can move forward in what God is calling me to do because it’s not about me. It’s all about JESUS!!
Colleen McGeorge
ACF Devo Team
End in Prayer
Father God – there are no words to express the gratitude, the magnitude of who You are and what You have done. All I can say is, “Yes”. I’m in. I trust You. I love You. And I want to be a part of what You are doing! Thank you for loving us so much that you sent Your Son for us. It’s in His mighty and precious name we pray. Amen!