Friday, Feb. 17 2012 7:00AM
The most famous statement Jesus ever made
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Reprint“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.”
This verse, John 3:16, has been called the Mount Everest, the North Star of the Bible. The language of these 26 words is shallow enough a child can get it but so deep an adult could plum its depths.
Author Max Lucado calls 3:16 a “one sentence parade of hope.” It begins with the word God and ends with the word life. If you know nothing about the Bible, I’d encourage you begin with this verse. If you’ve grown up with the Bible, you return to this passage time and again for encouragement, challenge, correction, hope.
Consider how 3:16 has impacted our culture:
A few years back Tim Tebow painted it under his eyes for a University of Florida football game, and 92 million Americans googled John 3:16 that night.
My favorite burger place, In-n-Out, (Kansas City has best barbecue, not burgers) puts John 3:16 on the bottoms of drink cups,
There is an a oil change place that discounts your oil change if you can quote John 3:16.
There’s a feed store named the “John 3:16 Feed Store” in Texas. Only in Texas.
Even one of the world’s best-known professional wrestlers got in on the 3:16 action: Austin 3:16!
The greatest news, the greatest act of love ever, is that God so loved the world that He gave us Jesus. This kind of love you can’t earn or lose. God loves. God gave. We receive. This kind of love will not let you go. Others accuse, demote, ignore, leave you. God claims you. The definitive voice of the universe says, “You matter to me. I love you.” This kind of love can be trusted.
In God’s eyes, you have value simply because you are. You don’t have to impress Him. Your value as loved by God is inborn, because you exist. Remember that. Remember that the next time you are the victim of someone’s cutting sarcastic remark. Remember that the next time you’re left bobbing for air in the wake of someone else’s ambition. Remember that the next time someone tries to hang a discounted price tag on your self-worth.
The next time you feel passed off as cheap or insignificant, just think about the way Jesus loves you and the lengths to which He went to demonstrate it. I do. I smile because I know I don’t deserve love like that. That love changed my life, turned me upside-down from the inside out. It’s the best news ever.
This Sunday, why don’t you hit a church that celebrates and clearly teaches this message of hope, life and love?
