Daily Bread

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.’

The opposite of death is life, and eternal life means exactly that — life in all its fullness in the here and now and forever. Jesus came that we might have life in and through him.

I think a better translation of the word rendered as 'believe' is 'trust'. We are not only invited to believe that Jesus was God's Son, but called to trust in him, to lean into him, and to hold onto his promise of life. God the Holy Trinity longs to scoop us up, to gather us into their flock, and to welcome us into their family, but we do have a choice. God doesn't overrule our wills by forcing us to join the people of God (what we call the Church) because that is not the way of love. Instead, God wants us to willingly give ourselves and respond to the love demonstrated in and through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

Jesus was the ultimate expression of a loving God to the world, having given us everything, the last thing God could give was themselves. This is how much God loves the world.

'For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.'

John 3.16 is perhaps the most famous Bible verse of all time and for good reason. When we wonder if God loves us, when we doubt God's resolve, or when we have reservations about God's plan for us, then I encourage you to recite this verse, for it sums up God's love and God's plan that we should find life — life in all its fullness in the here and now and forever.

Holy God
Shine your light into my life
such that nothing is hidden from you.
For, to you, darkness is as light,
and night-time is as bright as day.
As you illuminate the path set before me
may I trust in your unfailing love
and believe with all my heart
that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Saviour
of all humanity, and for me.