The date today is the 16th of March, "John 3:16 day", and all over the world Christians are sharing one of the most well known bible verses in whatever way they can.
"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
The verse explains how God sent His son, Jesus, into the world in order that we may have eternal life with Him. All because of His love for us. But there are two ways that the first phrase, "For God so loved the world," can be interpreted.
In modern english, the most natural way we read it is in the sense of, "God loved the world so much that..."
The second way to read it is, "For God loved the world in this way..."
For a large number of people the first interpretation of the phrase is, understandably, very important to them. It is a life-changing thing to understand the immensity of God's love for us, it brings us freedom and peace. The second interpretation perhaps seems less interesting or meaningful in comparison.
In the world today, we have a very confused and warped sense of what love is; in general we think of love as a feeling, something we can experience, something that we can lose...
We don't understand what real, pure love is. That is, the perfect love with which God loves.
I want to suggest to you that the second interpretation is the more accurate, and the most meaningful for our lives. For us, we think of love as something that has varying levels, and it's for this reason we have the phrase, "I love you so much", and it's because, as humans, by ourselves we're not capable of real love.
God does not love in certain amounts, it's not possible. He just loves. It's a constant, undaunted and unconditional love that can never and never will change. God didn't send His son to die for our sins because He loved us "this amount", He sent Jesus to sacrifice himself because He loves us completely, fully and perfectly and He doesn't want us to perish, to spend eternity without Him. To think that God loved us "so much" is not to understand what His love, real love, really is- but there's a reason we don't understand.
How does the love we know in our world demonstrate itself? Today, generally 40-50% of marriages end in divorce. We live in a world where, if the feeling of love isn't there, you are within your right to give up on a relationship, withdraw your commitment, or ignore the right thing to do. We have bought into this phoney idea of love, a cheap imitation of the real thing. We confuse romantic love with lust, and love in general with something that should always be self-satisfying; if it doesn't benefit you, if it isn't the best thing for you, then don't do it. Think of yourself, it's your right. And then we're surprised when it doesn't seem to be all that we thought it would be, all that we know love should be.
The opposite of love is not hate, it is selfishness. We are capable of love, we do love, but it is always a constant battle between that real love and our love of ourselves, our naturally selfish nature. And without God, it's a losing battle.
By sacrificing Himself, God shows us what real love is. He demonstrated His love for us by choosing to become a human, leaving His perfect and glorious place in Heaven to live among us, facing the same battles, struggles and temptations, in the same weakness. He proved His love for us by overcoming sin through living the perfect life, despite the struggles, and then by dying in your place.
He died for you, knowing that you didn't love or even like Him, nevermind acknowledge Him as God. He died for you, even though He knew all of the times you would reject and turn your back on Him. He died for you, even though He knew you may never even accept Him or His gift of eternal life and salvation from sin and its consequences.
Real love doesn't require anything in return and it is not self-serving. Love is always a choice. To show us His love, Jesus took our well-deserved punishment upon himself, dying on a cross, and then God raised Him from the dead, securing victory over sin and death, so that we could live a life of freedom in that victory. It's a love that none of us deserve.
Who has ever loved us in this way before? Who else could ever love us this way? God has loved us completely, and has displayed that love for all to see and believe in through His son, Jesus Christ. Not only do we receive eternal life but we are free from our slavery to sin; we are able to live in a way that is not only pleasing to God but is completely satsisfying for us. We have a restored relationship with our Father and Creator, which brings us a peace that passes understanding and overcomes the restraints of life's circumstances.
His gift of love and forgiveness is there for you to take, you only need believe and accept it.
