Love

John 3:16 (NIV)

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.

The words are so familiar to many of us...as to lose some of their power and meaning.

In his book, "The 3:16 Promise," Max Lucado has called John 3:16, "the crown jewel of the New Testament."

Truly, this is the case. Every word is powerful and could be explored.

But, it all begins in love.

God's love, not ours. That is the beginning, the foundation, the ground of it all.

There is no "Christianity," or "Christians," without God's love coming first, at the beginning.

In fact, this same Gospel tells us that without Christ, "The Word," the "logos," there is no creation at all.

We are here...because God loves us.

In the Greek of John, this verse says that God so "agapao" the world.

In English, we translate the word as "love," and certainly that translation is not incorrect.

But even more specifically, the word communicates being "pleased," or "contented."

Imagine...God the creator, so pleased with his world, that he would come among us to redeem it.
Doesn't God know about all the remarkably evil stuff in this world? All the cheaters and liars, abusers and killers of body and spirit?

God most certainly does...but God's nature is to look toward redemption.

No matter how bad we get...God's love remains steadfast. There is always opportunity for us to turn and find redemption.

In fact, that's the very context of the passage from which this crown jewel emerges. It is as Jesus speaks with Nicodemus about redemption, that the language of John 3:16 first takes shape.

God so loved...you...me...in contentment, and satisfaction...not with we do, but with our identity as his children...that he gave.

And that's the greatest news that there could be.

Prayer: God our Father, we think about the depth of your great love for your children. Help us to live into that love today. May the truth of your love bring us your peace.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.