For God so loved the world.....

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. 

 

This is the verdict [judgment]: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God (Jn. 3:16-21).

 

These are the words of Jesus Christ, perhaps the most-often quoted words in the Bible.  We have heard the words so often that we don't even think about them any more -- but imagine if we would hear them for the first time ever!  Imagine hearing for the first time that salvation comes to us through Jesus Christ, through our coming to Him, the Light of the world!  Here is the judgment of our souls:  Have you come to the Light, or have you remained in the darkness? 

 

People often get mad when we say that Jesus is the only way, as if we were bigoted,  prejudiced, and exclusive.  But we say this only because He Himself said it first; otherwise, we could not say it.  "How is that fair?" they ask, as though their own hearts and minds were greater and more generous than God's heart and mind.   "What about those who have never heard of Jesus Christ?"

Jesus often spoke in a way that people would have to ask Him about His meaning.  Those who refused to "come to Him" simply rejected His words as those of a madman and walked away.  If we go to Him, asking about what puzzles us, we often discover the action of the Holy Spirit rushing into our hearts and minds with a truth we cannot comprehend without Him.

 

Listen to the words of Jesus:  "Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light....everyone who does evil hates the light."  Jesus told the Pharisees, "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad" (Jn. 8:56).  Abraham lived 2000 years before Jesus, and yet, he saw Jesus and was glad.  Abraham, a pagan from a pagan land, walked with God.  He lived by the truth -- and he came into the Light of the World.  Why would it be any different for a pagan who had never heard of the Gospel? 

Someone who lives by truth, who seeks truth, will find Truth, for God has not given us hungers that are supposed to remain unfulfilled.  Sophisticated, "enlightened" people often say that there are no absolute truths, but only relative truths, depending on our experience and education.  However, Jesus promised that we would know the Truth, and that that knowledge would set us free.  Unless we want to say that He was speaking metaphorically, I think we have to believe Him.

Some things are beyond our "ken."  When it comes to the things of God, we cannot manipulate Him into our small knowledge boxes; we must allow Him His own ways and His own words.  He has promised to reveal to us "secrets of which we know nothing" if we will but listen to Him.  He has spoken to us through His Son; if we do not believe the Son, what is left for us to believe?