By John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
God is a God of love. We have heard this before from teachers who only want to speak of God is a nice, gumdrop and rainbow kind of way. We have heard this before from folks who don’t want to be told that they can’t remain in their sin; God is love, he won’t judge me…
This text tells us how God loves. He loves his world so much that he gave. Love is a verb, an action. It is not so much a warm and gushy feeling as it is a resolve to do.
Now let’s think for a moment about what it means for God to love his world so much that he gave his only Son. This means that Jesus Christ the eternal Son of God was sent from his throne in heaven to the sinful and fallen world of creation. He was sent to be born into a poor Jewish family. He was sent to live a perfect life of obedience to all that his Father had revealed in the Scriptures. He was sent on a rescue mission to die a horrific death of pain, shame, and separation. God loved his world so much that he gave the best thing he could possibly give. He gave his Son up to died for it. He substituted his Son in the place of the sinful world. He crucified Jesus for the sin of the world instead of crucifying the world for their own sin. Would you send your only child to receive the death penalty for the crime of a wicked inmate on death row? This is God’s love for his world times ten thousand.
Let’s love one another so much so that we give.
Leading Family Devotions 