John 3:16 says:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” (NKJV)
That is God’s crazy love for the world. You see, Scripture points out clearly the condition of the world – of the human race – without the love and grace of God. Psalm 14:1:
“The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good.” (NKJV)
That’s the human race as God sees us apart from His grace, His mercy, His love. We don’t even seek God. We’ve turned away from Him. We are not conscious of Him, we’re not conscious of our need of Him. We’ve turned our back on Him. Psalm 14:2-3:
“The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. [The answer is:] They have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one.” (NKJV)
And then we pass from that awful scene to this unexplained mystery of the love of God, back to that very familiar verse, John 3:16:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (NKJV)
Remember what the world was like that God gave His Son to win. It was a world that had turned aside. A world that was altogether corrupt. A world in which there was not one person that, by his own nature, was doing good. A world in which man didn’t even seek for God. So, every good motivation, every good response of man is prompted only by the love and grace of God. For a world like that, God gave His only Son – the Lord Jesus Christ – that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. That’s the mystery behind human history. That’s the mystery behind our individual experience.
For reflection and prayer
God loves you so much that He gave His only begotten Son, so that you should have everlasting life.
