“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”
John 3:16-17 NLT
John 3:16 must be the most well-known verse in the Bible. Books have been written about it. Preachers have evangelised with it. I even heard of it being used at a funeral service, though the minister taking the service left out the bit about “everyone who believes in him” to instead reassure everyone present that they will all end up in Heaven, enjoying eternal life, anyway. But however we view this verse, it is a clear statement as to why Jesus came to this planet two thousand or so years ago. On that occasion, God demonstrated His love for all people in the world, and put into action the plan He had for the salvation of mankind since the beginning, since that fateful day in the Garden, when sin destroyed what God intended.
We notice that the tense in this verse is in the past. Two thousand years ago God expressed His love by sending Jesus. But this was a one-off act of love. God doesn’t keep sending Jesus because there is no need – His one-off birth, life and death, were all that was required to provide a timeless pathway, so that He could one day enjoy the presence of His creation in Heaven with Him. And by so doing, He gave “everyone who believes in him” the opportunity to make a choice about where we will spend eternity. This is a stark choice, John wrote. The options are to “perish” or to “have eternal life”. There is no other way, no half-hearted selection process. We either buy into God’s plan through Jesus or we are effectively turning our backs on Him, choosing instead a lost eternity in a place where we won’t want to be.
In life we don’t know when or how our death will come. Our lives could be cut short in a road accident. Or we could end our days in a hospital bed. We just don’t know, and if asked if we would like to know, we would probably decline the invitation. Looking at the behaviours of some who engage in what are called extreme sports, we perhaps think that some people believe they are immortal. But Jesus came to this world the hard way. Born as a baby to a peasant girl in her early teens, He grew up normally, as far as we can tell, but by the time Jesus started His public ministry, He knew how His life would end. But He didn’t flinch. He didn’t look for a way out. He resolutely looked forward to the Cross, knowing that He would have to endure the whipping, the abuse, the false trial beforehand, all before a devastatingly painful and humiliating death on a Roman Cross. Knowing that this was all part of His Father’s plan.
Jesus came to this world so that all who believed in Him would have eternal life. And just to emphasise the message, He went on to say that He wasn’t on earth to judge the people there – that was going to come much later – but instead He was going to open a window of opportunity of salvation for everyone through Him. There will come a day when the window will close forever. Jesus taught about it in Matthew 25:31-46, or we can read about it in Revelation 20. Jesus will come again so we must be ready to meet Him. We pilgrims will never perish and we will enjoy eternal life with Jesus in our Heavenly home. Forever.
Dear Father God. Thank You for Jesus, for Your plan of salvation for mankind, for Your loving kindness. We can never stop thanking and worshipping You. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 