A Reading from the Gospel of John 3:16-21
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17 Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20 For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21 But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”
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Meditation
In the passage just before this one, Nicodemus stops by in the middle of the night to speak with Jesus, and soon Jesus is speaking of the need to be “born from above” and “born of water and spirit” in order to enter the kingdom of God. Nicodemus’s responses confirm that the whole message of spiritual rebirth is going over his head. “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?” Jesus asks.
Nicodemus, a prominent leader and teacher, is missing the point.
In today’s reading, the point is made plain—so plain that it is has been memorized and recited by countless Sunday School classrooms:
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
This is the full manifestation of God’s love for humanity: God sent his Son to save the whole world, making a way for us to live in fellowship with him forever. In fact, the Gospel of John continues, Jesus did not come “to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
But what follows is a gut-punch of a verse: “… this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.” God initiated an epic rescue mission to reconcile people to himself; yet, when presented with the option, some prefer to stay in the shadows rather than be in relationship with the One from whom no secrets are hid.
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Lauren Anderson-Cripps oversees communications and marketing for Nashotah House Theological Seminary and writes for a variety of publications, including The Living Church. Lauren currently lives in Dallas with her husband, Sam, and their dog, Tennessee Jed.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland
The Diocese of Raiwind – The (united) Church of Pakistan
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