Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Amazed by John 3:16

I was listening to a local christian radio station this morning and the devotion was John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." The DJ was talking about how glad he is that it says "God so loved the world" not God so loved the rich person or God so loved the white man, or God so loved the thin person...God loves us all...at all times.

Even in my worst moment the Father is completely in love with me. This is so hard for our minds to grasp. In our society people love everything...they love their car and their dog (look at the post before this) I even love my job. But real love...true love is a kind of love that does something for you that you can't do for yourself. Look at John 3:16 again it doesn't say God so loved the world that he told them so or God so loved the world that he had a fuzzy feeling when he saw them. It says "God so loved the world, that he gave his ONLY Son." God did something for me that I could not do on my own. He did something for you that you can't do on your own either. He became the propitiation for our sins. Propitiation (or the act of propitiation) simply means to gain or regain the favor or goodwill of (someone). So that means that Jesus Christ the blameless one took on the guilt and shame of our sins to regain the favor and goodwill of the father.

So I said all of that to say this: If you are drowning in disappointment over past or present failures know that John 3:16 is so much more than a Sunday School memory verse. It is the key that unlocks the chains that we put ourselves in God loves us so much that he did something for us we couldn't do, and just to prove it (because He knows we need him to speak plainly) he added John 3:17 "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." Even though so many who claim to be "christian" may judge and condemn you for your sins, Christ himself was not even sent to condemn you he was sent to save you. Not only from hell but from yourself. So enjoy the awesome gift you have been given and live today knowing that Christianity is not a list of rules and regulations to follow but the freedom of knowing that the creator of this world is madly in love with you and that nothing you can do will change that. So when you fail all there is to do is repent and try again knowing you are still the apple of His eye!

I will leave you with one of my favorite verses Romans 8: 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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