December 18, 2012

    John 3:16-21

 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not perish but would 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 judgment, 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."

 

            John 3:16 is among the most well-known verses in all of scripture.  Some have described it as "the Gospel within the Gospel," as it powerfully proclaims the essence of the Christian faith.  As this verse so gloriously proclaims, the coming of Jesus Christ to save us is not the result of anything we have done.  God's coming to us in Jesus Christ is the result of nothing less than God's great and abiding love for us.  "For God so loved the world he gave his only Son…."  The celebration of the coming of Christ is a celebration of the love of God which knows no bounds.  It is a love that seeks not to condemn, but to save.  In the First Epistle of John, we read these words:  "And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world.  God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God.  So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.  God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God and God abides in them."  May such love abide in us as we continue our Advent journey. 

 

            Prayer:

            Loving God, we praise you for the love you have made known to us in Jesus Christ. Help us to rejoice in that love and empower us to share his love with others.  Amen.