Be a "whosoever"

 

The season of Lent calls us to repentance.  Scripture reminds us of the unconditional love and overwhelming mercy of God for us.  2 Chronicles (36:14-23) tells us that God sent prophets to the people: “Early and often did the Lord, the God of their fathers, send his messengers to them, for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place.”  It goes on to relate how the people rejected God’s messengers, and so came God’s punishment with the conquest by Babylon and the exile.  But when the Persians conquered the Babylonians, the people of Israel were allowed to return from exile and build a new temple.

St. Paul writes, “God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ … raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:4-10)

Jesus said to Nicodemus: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”  And then Jesus went on to say those really familiar words: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that whosoever believes in him might not perish, but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:14-21)

Oftentimes, at large public events such as sports games, we can find someone holding up a sign that says, “John 3:16.”  The reason for this is that this passage offers a simple but clear summary of the entire Gospel.  There are four basic truths that we can take from this Scripture. 

First, it’s made clear that the Father in Heaven loves us.  We know this, but we’ll never fully comprehend the depth of this truth.  God the Father loves us with a profound and perfect love.  It’s a love that is deeper than anything else we could ever experience in life.  His love is perfect.

Second, the Father’s love was made manifest by the gift of His Son Jesus.  It’s a profound act of love for the Father to give us His Son.  The Son meant everything to the Father, and the gift of the Son to us means that the Father gives us everything.  He gives His very life to us in the Person of Jesus.

Third, the only appropriate response we can make to such a gift is faith.  We must believe in the transforming power of accepting the Son into our lives.  We must see this gift as a gift that gives us all we need.  We must accept the Son into our lives by believing in His mission and giving our lives to Him in return.

Fourth, the result of receiving Him and giving our lives in return is that we’re saved.  We won’t perish in our sin; rather, we’ll be given eternal life.  There’s no other way to salvation than through the Son.  We must know, believe, accept and embrace this truth.

If we believe how much God loves us, we must choose light over darkness; love over hate and fear; and life over death.  How can people believe in Jesus if we do otherwise with each other?  May we live in the good works God created us to do.