Hello,
There was a guy, and some of you of my vintage might remember him, who made it his mission to get on camera during major sporting events…the Super Bowl, World Series, Basketball Payoffs. When he was on camera, you knew it because he always sported the same multicolored fro-wig and he was waving a sizable sign that said, “John 3:16”. Of course, he was directing people to the Bible, “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.” Many have said that this verse is the heart of the Christian message, so with his sign and his hair, he was endeavoring bring the Christian message to a huge audience.
I don’t know how successful he was. I don’t know how many people who saw him found a Bible and opened it to John 3:16, and I don’t know how many people who read this verse were captivated by it and found their way into a life-giving relationship with Christ. All I know is that I would not have done what he did.
When I say that I don’t mean that I don’t mean that I would not have donned funny hair and tried to get the Christian message out to the world (although truthfully, I am a bit too reserved to do that). What I mean is that I probably would not have written what he wrote on his sign, and here’s why.
Although I don’t think it was ever intended to be so, this verse in our day has taken on a message of fear and warning. “Sure, God sent his Son into the world out of love, and you had better believe it….or else!” For a long time, that is the message I heard from it, too.
But as I have wandered with Jesus, it has become clear to me that this verse is meant to be a word of hope and promise, not warning and fear. It has become clear to me that God is not one who bullies people, “Be my friend, or else!” It has become clear to me that God is not one who is so desperate for love that he threatens people to love him (and what kind of love would that be?). It has become clear to me that God is not one who tries to scare people into heaven. That is not the kind of God I see in Jesus, the Son of God, who was sent into the world, dying on a cross and rising from the grave.
No, the kind of God that I have come to see is one who raises up my belief in him by standing between me and the world’s bullies and says, “If you want this one, you have to go through me first.” The kind of God that I have come to see is one who is not desperate for love, but overflowing in love, loving me into loving him. The kind of God that I have come to see is not one who tries to scare me into his arms, but instead wraps me in his arms when things are really scary. And for me, this God that I have come to see and know is not spoken of in John 3:16, alone. The God that I have come to see and know is spoken of in John 3:16 and John 3:17.
‘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. (3:16)
‘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. (3:17)
As you can see by verse 17, the Christian message is not one of a God who is seeking to condemn. It is one of a God who is determined to save….save you, save me, save the world. That, I find to be, a message that captures my heart and takes hold of my life.
So, if by chance you are watching a sporting event on TV and you see some guy with weird colored hair getting on camera….holding a sign that says, “John 3:16,17”….well, believe it or not, it might just be me!
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace,(ggap)
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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