John 3:16 - LOVE SUPREME!
John 3:16 (KJV) For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.
COMMENTARY PEARL
God loves you so much that he sent Jesus
on a mission of love with a message of love.
The Bible doesnt say God has love; it says
God is love. Love is his nature; God is love.
God created the entire universe. He
created this planet; he created the human race. And
he created you because he loves you.
It could be said the reason youre
alive is because God created you as an object of
his love. God made you so he could love you and
so that you could love him. Gods love for
you is the reason your hearts beating right
now; its the reason youre breathing.
Gods amazing news is that he loves you
on your good days as much as he loves you on
your bad days. He loves you when you can feel his
love, and he loves you when you cant seem to
feel his love. He loves you whether or not you
think you deserve his love.
Nothing you can do will make God stop
loving you. You could try, but you simply
couldnt do it because his love for you is based upon
his character and not on anything you do or say
or feel.
God loves you so much that he sent his
only Son, Jesus, into this world, so that
anyone who believes in him shall not perish but
have eternal life (John 3:16 TLB).
When Jesus stretched his arms out as wide
as the cross, he was saying, I love you this
much! I love you so much it hurts. I love you so
much Ill die for you so that I wont have to
live without you.
Gods love surpasses all human
knowledge - and as Ephesians 3:17-19 tells us, it is
impossible for any of us to fully grasp the width and
length and height and depth of Gods love for
each one of us. Thats how much God loves you!
[Daily Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
COMMENTARY
Untethered by time, [God] sees us all.
From the backwoods of Virginia to the business
district of London; from the Vikings to the
astronauts, from the cave-dwellers to the kings, from
the hut-builders to the finger-pointers to the
rock-stackers, he sees us. Vagabonds and ragamuffins all,
he saw us before we were born.
And he loves what he sees. Flooded by
emotion. Overcome by pride, the Starmaker turns to
us, one by one, and says, You are my child. I
love you dearly. Im aware that someday
youll turn from me and walk away. But I want you
to know, Ive already provided you a way
back.
And to prove it, he did something
extraordinary.
Stepping from the throne, he removed his
robe of light and wrapped himself in skin:
pigmented, human skin. The light of the universe
entered a dark, wet womb. He who angels worship
nestled himself in the placenta of a peasant, was
birthed into the cold night, and then slept on
cows hay.
Mary didnt know whether to give him
milk or give him praise, but she gave him both
since he was, as near as she could figure, hungry
and holy.
Joseph didnt know whether to call him
Junior or Father. But in the end called him Jesus,
since thats what the angel said and since he
didnt have the faintest idea what to name a God he
could cradle in his arms.
Neither Mary nor Joseph said it as
bluntly as my Sara, but dont you think their
heads tilted and their minds wondered, What in
the world are you doing, God? Or, better
phrased, God, what are you doing in the world?
Can anything make me stop loving
you? God asks. Watch me speak your language,
sleep on your earth, and feel your hurts. Behold
the maker of sight and sound as he sneezes,
coughs, and blows his nose. You wonder if I
understand how you feel? Look into the dancing eyes of
the kid in Nazareth; thats God walking to
school. Ponder the toddler at Marys table;
thats God spilling his milk.
You wonder how long my love will last?
Find your answer on a splintered cross, on a
craggy hill. Thats me you see up there, your
maker, your God, nail-stabbed and bleeding. Covered
in spit and sin-soaked. Thats your sin Im
feeling. Thats your death Im dying. Thats
your resurrection Im living. Thats how much
I love you. [Max Lucado Daily Devotional at
maxlucado.com]
Holiday travel. It isnt easy. Then why
do we do it? Why cram the trunks and endure the
airports? You know the answer. We love to be with the
ones we love.
The four-year-old running up the sidewalk
into the arms of Grandpa.
The cup of coffee with Mom before the
rest of the house awakes.
That moment when, for a moment, everyone
is quiet as we hold hands around the table and
thank God for family and friends and pumpkin pie.
We love to be with the ones we love.
May I remind you? So does God. He loves
to be with the ones he loves. How else do you
explain what he did? Between him and us there was a
distance - a great span. And he couldnt bear it.
He couldnt stand it. So he did something
about it.
Before coming to the earth, Christ
himself was like God in every-thing. But he gave
up his place with God and made himself nothing.
He was born to be a man and became like a
servant (Phil. 2:6"7 NCV).
Why? Why did Jesus travel so far?
I was asking myself that question when I
spotted the squirrels outside my window. A family of
black-tailed squirrels has made its home amid the roots
of the tree north of my office. Weve been
neighbors for three years now. They watch me peck the
keyboard. I watch them store their nuts and climb the
trunk. Were mutually amused. I could watch them
all day. Sometimes I do.
But Ive never considered becoming one
of them. The squirrel world holds no appeal to
me. Who wants to sleep next to a hairy rodent
with beady eyes? (No comments from you wives who
feel you already do.) Give up the Rocky
Mountains, bass fishing, weddings, and laughter for a
hole in the ground and a diet of dirty nuts?
Count me out.
But count Jesus in. What a world he left.
Our classiest mansion would be a tree trunk to
him. Earths finest cuisine would be walnuts on
heavens table. And the idea of becoming a squirrel
with claws and tiny teeth and a furry tail?
Its nothing compared to God becoming a
one-celled embryo and entering the womb of Mary.
But he did. The God of the universe
kicked against the wall of a womb, was born into
the poverty of a peasant, and spent his first
night in the feed trough of a cow. The Word
became flesh and lived among us (John 1:14
NRSV). The God of the universe left the glory of
heaven and moved into the neighborhood. Our
neighborhood! Who could have imagined he would do such a
thing.
Why? He loves to be with the ones he
loves. [Max Lucado Daily Devotional at
maxlucado.com]
CLOSING THOUGHT
You've seen the picture before. Three
crosses silhouetted on a hill. All appears peaceful
and calm.
The scene at the actual cross where Jesus
died was anything but calm. It was gruesome, sad,
horrible ... and yet awe-inspiring. After being
beaten by Roman soldiers, Jesus was forced to carry
his cross up the hill to Golgotha. He was too
weak to make it, so soldiers grabbed somebody
from the crowd to take Jesus' cross to the top.
He was nailed to the wooden beams and lifted
into the air. Breathing was difficult. Talking
strained. Yet Jesus managed to look down at his mother
and tell one of his disciples to care for her.
Jesus heard the taunts from soldiers and the
criminals being executed next to him. When one of
those men recognized the truth of who Jesus was,
Jesus told him, "Truly I tell you, today you will
be with me in paradise." Jesus forgave those
who tortured him, cried out to God, and died on
that rough cross.
Was it a terrible scene? Yes. Was it also
magnificent? Absolutely.
Some books have been written that say
Jesus merely fainted on the cross and then revived
in the tomb. That's simply not true. Numerous
historians report Jesus died. The Romans were good at
many things - killing was one of them. The
soldiers at the cross made sure Jesus was dead before
taking him down. Talking about Jesus' death is sad,
but it's also necessary. Jesus came to die for
our sins so that we could live. He was the
ultimate sacrificial lamb. John 3:16 tells us, "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."
Have you prayed to ask Jesus to be your
Savior? He suffered so you could be forgiven. If
you've never prayed to give your life to Christ,
you can do that right now by saying: "Jesus, I'm
sorry for all the times I've sinned by doing what
I wanted instead of following your rules. I
believe you took my punishment and suffered in my
place by dying on the cross. Help me to follow
you. Please come into my life. Thank you for
saving me. Amen."
If you just prayed that prayer, go tell
someone. A parent, a youth pastor, the person who
gave you this book. Then commit to learning more
about Jesus and serving him with your life. [Case
For Christ For Kids by Les Strobel]
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2019/20191225-0830.html
EXCELLENT VIDEO SERIES ON 28 REVELATIONS OF
JESUS
1st of 28: Divine Dining:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_7j1QIKqmY
2nd of 28: Pictures of the Divine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lNI-OQ7-eQ
3rd of 28: A Dirty Bible:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMkPvBuuFd4
4th of 28: Cared For:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztXyJVdcCds
5th of 28: Saved:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX45kGRe1HI
6th of 28: You Can Change:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd0gkvK18fo
7th of 28: Reprogramming Our Brains:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov36f_RapXc
8th of 28 Our Holy Father:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XabXLEXsxbY
9th of 28 Gifts of Service:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtuGZviodkA
10th of 28 The Holy Spirit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in89XVs4cGo
11th of 28 The Law of God:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Q601HjogI
12th of 28 The Sabbath:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sakgnKoTzZI
13th of 28 The Church:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkFw2XsTW-w
14th of 28 The Gift of Prophecy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiO2VC09NPI
15th of 28 Stewardship:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z_lNLAataw
16th of 28 Marriage and the Family:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EybxvMQ0K7E
17th of 28 The Remnant and Its Mission:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oK6tix2K2qA
18th of 28 Christian Behavior:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecVGsQfAo7Q
Live ongoing series in progress.
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
