John 3:16-21

John 3:16-21

For in this way God loved the world: therefore He gave the one and only Son, in order that all the ones who believe into Him should not perish but have life eternal.  For God did not send the Son into the world in order that He should judge the world but in order that the world should be saved through Him.  The one who believes into Him is not being judged; but the one who does not believe has already been judged since he has not believed into the name of the one and only Son of God.  And this is judgment: that the light has come into the world and mankind loved the darkness rather than the light, for it was of their evil deeds.  For all who practice moral baseness hates the light and he does not come to the light in order that his works should not be exposed.  But the one who does truth comes to the light in order that his works should be revealed since he is doing them in God.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus is clear with Nicodemus about the reason that He came.  He came in order to make eternal life possible.  The world is saved through Jesus.  We are not saved through our own deeds or our own greatness.  We are not saved through our own righteousness.  We are saved through Christ.

Does God’s plan of salvation sound too simple?  Is listening to God really all that simple?

Second Thought:

Jesus then speaks about what judgment actually is.  Light came into the world, but people have chosen to maintain their own darkness instead.  In fact, it is worse than that.  Mankind loves darkness.  We love the corruption that lives within us.  We reject the light because we do not want our evil exposed in the light.  We reject God because we desire to maintain our own identity and not let anyone else see our true dark side.

What darkness lies within that you do not want exposed?  Will you let this darkness keep you from relationship with God?

Third Thought:

Jesus also tells us that those of us who are in the light desire to be in the light.  Not only does the light expose our evil so that it can be purified, it also exposes God within us.  The light reveals how God can work in us and through us.  It feels good to have God’s light expose His work within us.

Where is God drawing you into the light to reveal how He is at work in you?

Passage for Tomorrow: John 3:22-30