I want to be brief today and will start where Rob starts, in his Preface:
Rob: "First, I believe that Jesus' story is first and foremost about the love of God for every single one of us. It is a stunning, beautiful, expansive love, and is for everybody, everywhere. That's the story. 'For God so loved the world . . .' That's why Jesus came. That's his message. That's where life is found."
But is that really the message? I mean is that the whole message? Because half a truth is not really the truth. Is it? I do believe the whole bible is God's love story toward mankind but it isn't so neat and tidy. Rob quotes the first six words of John 3:16 but leaves off the rest of the sentence as well as the next 30 verses.
What if I said, "That's a beautiful road and it leads to a sweet scenic overlook . . ." You'll notice that the sentence didn't end in a period but ended in three little dots. That means we've left off the rest of the story. Maybe important maybe irrelevant but we won't know unless we are privy to the rest of the statement. In this case it might have been,
". . . but you need to have four wheel drive, chains on your tires, a can of bear repellent, and an extra tank of gas because the road is steep, slippery, very long, and there are 1200 foot cliffs on each side. By the way, there are hungry grizzly bears at the second rest stop." Isn't that info you would have liked to know at the beginning before you packed the sandwiches, your disposable camera, and your three little kids into the VW bug for the day trip?
With that intro, I want you to read the rest of John Chapter 3. The highlights are mine. We will carry on in the next post.
John 3:16-36 (NIV)
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only 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 they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people 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 their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
John Testifies Again About Jesus
After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. (This was before John was put in prison.) An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.” To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them."
Not easy teaching but these aren't my words but the words of Jesus and his Apostle John. We aren't at liberty to pick only the words that bring us smiles. It is indeed a stunningly beautiful message because while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. He took our condemnation and death. But there appears to be a qualifier: Belief. We'll talk about what that means later because Rob questions that as well.
Peace in Christ, David
