Hello,
I was watching one of the NCAA basketball games yesterday afternoon, and
I noticed a man who had strategically placed himself in the stands so that he
was caught by the cameras when every free throw was shot at one end of the
court. The reason that I noticed
him was that he was holding a large yellow sign that read, JOHN 3:16.
For a lot of Christians, John 3:16 is a well known verse, a verse that
they have learned as children. “For God so loved the world that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have
eternal life.” Even some
theologians with more degree letters after their names than letters in their
names have said that this verse, John 3:16 encapsulates the Christian faith.
But I wonder how people who see themselves on the outside of the
Christian faith are struck by this verse.
I can’t say that I know for sure, but from conversations that I have had
with such people, these sort of signs are often received as an angry threat and
ultimatum from God. “Believe, or
else!”
I know that it is hard for some to believe in God. In truth, I am quite sure, that
sometimes it is hard for all of us to believe. Even in Biblical times the reality of God’s existence wasn’t
crystal clear all the time. Also,
things have always happened in life that had led people to ask, “Where is this
loving God?” And in a world that
has always had a chorus of claims of ultimate truth, the natural question
arises (as Pontius Pilate said before sending Jesus off to be crucified), “What
is truth?”
So for those for whom belief is hard, all of the time or some of the
time, let me draw your eyes and ears to John 3:17, “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.” When this verse is read alongside John
3:16, it seems clear to me that these verses were not intended to be a divine
threat or ultimatum. These verses
do not speak of a God who is stalking us, badgering us to believe in him, or
else. No, these verses speak of a
God whose love is so deeply felt for us that he will never give up on
us….proving his love for us…a love that will show itself to be present no
matter what…a love that will not be deterred by our fickleness…a love that will
not fear the consequences. When
believing in God is hard, God says that he will so love us that belief will
rise up in our hearts.
I know that there are
many Christians who understand John 3:16 as a divine ultimatum, and they
translate this verse into, “Believe or be damned.” (I have heard them.) But
when this verse is connected to the verse that follows it in the Bible, it
seems clear that it is just the opposite of an ultimatum…it is a promise….a
promise from God that God will keep on loving us until we believe….a promise to
which God was faithful when Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead…a
promise to which God was faithful when God made his mark on you in the waters
of Baptism….a promise to which God shows his faithfulness when he invites you
to his table and embraces you more deeply than a hug as he gives you his body
and blood….a promise to which God shows his faithfulness in a church that puts
flesh on forgiveness by standing with you when no one else will…a promise in
which God imparts faith and courage after the silence of prayer…a promise in
which God will overwhelm death’s sting with a grip that on the last day will
lift you out of the grave.
“For God so loved the
world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should
not perish but 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.”…….that is a promise.
JOHN 3:16,17
Have a great week,
God’s grace and
peace,
Pastor Jerry
Nuernberger
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