JOHN 3:16
[4-minute read]
When we think of directions, what often comes to mind are roadmaps, global positioning system (GPS) and directional signages. Just as common are directions and instructions - both explicit and embedded - found in the Bible and in our conversations with some people God puts in our life that point us in the right direction.
We see one such instance when Nicodemus, an influential Jewish religious leader, covertly sought out Jesus and received more than what he was ready to hear. For him to be seen talking with Jesus was nothing short of scandalous and would create deep controversies within the Jewish elites. But while he hid his meeting with Jesus by going to Him after nightfall, the Lord responded by bringing to light, for the first time, the most confounding truth about being born again (John 3:3).
Indeed, the direction, depth and determination of God’s love for mankind is encapsulated in the widely-known verse from John 3:16. To truly understand its intent, we have to apply three separate filters to analyze this verse.
Filter #1 God’s Love
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 emphasis on “so loved” and “whoever” points to the depth and degree of God’s love for all people, without distinction. His love transcends all forms of legalism, constrictive gender-role prescriptions, oppressive cultural mores and norms, and is freely open to “whoever”. In reality, no one and nothing can prevent anyone from receiving His love. While many things in life can wither, fade or die over time, and even when it feels like things that we cherish have come to an end, God’s love for us has no expiration. That’s because God’s motivation towards humanity is never of hatred but of magnanimous love. It reaches out to us in spite of our sinful and rebellious nature, and despite the human tendency to brush aside His unceasing love overtures.
Romans 8:38-39 is an exquisite depiction of the power and scope of God’s love: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
How can anyone ever look at God’s love any less?
Filter #2 God’s Gift
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.
God offers a relationship that does not expire. He is so rich in His goodness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son - sacrificed to take the punishment of our sins for us. Let’s not forget that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
To be sure, the Jews also believed in the concept of eternal life but it was only for Jews and only as a reward for strict adherence to the religious laws. They practiced a rule-based religion rather than a relationship with the living God through His Son Jesus. Hence, the all-inclusive idea of ‘whoever’ is a foreign one to any Jew.
In John 17, Jesus prayed this prayer: “Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.“ Therefore, we can say that eternal life with our Heavenly Father begins with a restored, vibrant and active relationship with God.
We can say that the way to eternal life begins with the right address found in John 3:16!
Filter #3 Our Destiny
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.,
God’s love, salvation and offer of eternal life with Him is extended to everyone and anyone on one condition: “whoever believes in Him”. Here, we are not referring to mere mental assent – a tacit acceptance or silent consent to support something we are still ambivalent about – without any outward evidence. To really believe in something is to show total acceptance, and to believe in God involves a total exercise of one’s faith to believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
Logical thinkers like Nicodemus saw Jesus only as a moral role model, a religious teacher or a prophet but not as the Son of the Living God. Indeed, what separates unbelievers from God is not their mistakes or any bad things they have done but by what they have not done - to believe in Jesus.
Listen, the entryway to eternal life for ‘whoever’ is narrow enough to exclude the most moral and religious people who have unbelief in their hearts. At the same time, it is wide enough to include everyone else – regardless of their past or present situations, their emotional baggages, their state of mind, their health or handicap.
Eternal life is not about a future life but a God-given destiny that begins as soon as we put our faith in Jesus – right here, right now, wherever we are!
This is a summary and reflection based on a virtual BIR Session held on 02 April 2022.
