Tuesday September 20, John 3.16-21

Remember him?

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. 18Those 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. 19And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21But 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.”

Thoughts:  Verse 17 calls on us to see that the Son has been sent not to condemn the world but to save it.  Thus as the serpent was raised in the desert by Moses, so Jesus becomes the means by which we are saved.  But this salvation also has a secondary impact in that it exposes the darkness.   Remember Nicodemus came to Jesus at night and here Jesus is reflecting on the fact that his (Jesus) presence is going to shine light into the darkness, and that while many will come to him, others will prefer to stay in the dark.   For me this is an invitation for confession.  To name the darkness in which I find myself  entangled and then from the midst of that place to look to the cross of Christ for strength and forgiveness.

Questions:  For God so loved the world.... This has been called the Gospel in a nutshell (John 3.16).   Do you think it expresses fully the good news we have in Christ?   What darkness in your life do you think needs to be exposed by the light of Christ?  Would you be willing to pray for Jesus to expose that darkness right now?