John 3:16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life".
This is a scripture I think everyone knows. It is the first scripture we learn as a child and one we can recite if asked, but have we let it take root in our heart and soul? For God LOVED the world SO much. I think the world's concept of love is conditional. People love and care for others as long as they meet certain expectations. "I love you if you will do this, or if you believe that, or if you prove yourself worthy". In this sense, it's impossible to say that there is such a thing as love, but God's love is different. His love is unconditional. He says "I love you even if you don't do this, or if you don't believe in me, or if you are unworthy". His love is given without selfish motives.
Think about it. God loved the WORLD so much that he GAVE his son. What about the love that he had for his Son? He watched His Son suffer and turned His back on his Son, in order that His son could take on the SIN of the WORLD! People say that the hardest thing to do is to watch a child suffer and/or die. God did just that on PURPOSE. He chose to endure the heartache so that we may be saved and connected to Him.
If I can't trust and feel loved in a physical sense, how can I understand the concept of God's love? I think that I may have it backwards. Maybe we aren't able to love or feel loved UNTIL we understand and experience God's unconditional love. "We love because He FIRST loved us." (1 John 4:19) If we seek and experience the love of God, then we are able to give and receive love on a whole other level with people. A deeper connection with God means a deeper connection with his children.
For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that.....
EVERYONE who BELIEVES in Him. What does it mean to believe in God? The Amplified Bible says that believing in God means that we trust him, cling to him, and rely on him.
I don't think that is human nature. I know that I struggle with trust. In my past, I put my trust in people, and then those people hurt me, so I stopped trusting. I have been in situations where I have relied on others and they have let me down, so I just learned to do everything myself and forget asking for help. Then, I have clung to certain relationships or ideas to fill the emptiness inside, but then things don't work out and I am left a broken mess. People (like me) trust, cling, and rely on worldly relationships, ideas, and possessions, and when it leaves them (me) broken, we say how can we rely, trust, and cling to God after being hurt so much?!
The more of our lives we are able to give and trust God with, the more we are able to trust that we can rely on him. God never let's us down!! When we cling to the Lord to meet our needs and fill our emptiness, then we are left feeling content and loved in a way that transforms us into who we are meant to be IN CHRIST.
For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him.......will NOT perish but have ETERNAL life. So, if we trust, cling, and rely on the Lord, he will take care of us on earth and then walk with us into eternity with God our creator. The one who loved us so much with an unconditional love that lasts FOREVER!
This truth brings me to tears. This is exactly what he did for my Grandfather four years ago. My Grandfather had suffered a long illness and his body shut down. I felt totally and completely helpless! In those last few days, there is nothing in the world that could help me with the pain I felt as I watched the ONE person I trusted and who loved and accepted me leave this world. Still today, there is nothing in this world that can help me as I grieve the loss of my Grandfather. I learned the day that my Grandfather died that Jesus was our only hope and the only thing I had to cling to as I watched the most important person in my life take his last breath.
I believe (trust, cling, and rely) in God's word where he says "to be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord". (2 Corinthians 5:8) God loved my Grandfather, us, and the world so much that he gave His son so that everyone who believes, trusts, relies, and clings to him will not perish (come to destruction or be lost), but have eternal life with Jesus!
May we never let John 3:16 lose the meaning of how much we are worth and loved by God!
AMEN!! THANK YOU JESUS!!
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