Reflection on John 3

=

Growing up I learned to believe in a mean God, one who punished us for all we’ve done wrong. Though I know now that isn’t true, it is always a struggle to believe that God will forgive all sins. Sometimes I fell so far into the deep end that I couldn’t see the light. It’s easy to pin all of our problems on God, but He never gives us anything we can’t grow from. In every inch of the human body and soul, God is there, even if we forget, He never leaves us.

            John 3: 16-21 states the most profound sacrifice God could have given us. He gave His only son to free us from our sin and lead us into the Kingdom of Heaven. All too often we forget the strength of God’s love. I admit, this is something I struggle with on a daily basis. I know God is there, and I know I should put Him first in everything I do, but sometimes I am too narcissistic. I think about everything that has gone wrong in my life and wonder how I made it, in retrospect I should’ve died three-four years ago.

            The only conclusion I can draw from this is I was put on this earth for a reason, I know there is something left for me to do here, if there wasn’t God would’ve let me go by now. Each book in the New Testament (excluding, in my opinion, Revelation) offers a deeper understanding of God’s unmerited love for us. God gives us hope in our most desperate times. When I was eleven I prayed every single night for the pain to go away, and it didn’t for years. It wasn’t until I realized that God puts tragedy in our lives to learn from that I truly grew in my faith.

            As I read the entire passage, the message became clear. In this passage Jesus takes several forms, Christ the Lord, Christ the teacher, and Christ the friend. As Christ the Lord he makes it known to Nicodemus the heart of God. Jesus shows him what motivates God, what He truly wants for the human race, and how He wants to help. The entire history of salvation, from the fall of Adam and Eve up to the final judgment revolves around Jesus. God sent Jesus because He did not want us to perish in our sins; He wants to share with us His everlasting life. Giving His only son is the proof that He is willing to do anything to save us, to give us a way to finally be free. God has no hidden agenda, only pure generosity.

Jesus has proven his love by coming to earth “for our sake and for our salvation.” He invites us to believe, so that we might not perish but have eternal life. He did not come for his own sake, but for ours. This is the epitome of friendship. “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). But in his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus once again points out that we remain free to accept or reject his offer of friendship, his offer of salvation. He makes it starkly clear: “Whoever does not believe in him has already been condemned.” Salvation depends on God and on us; God has done his part, now we must do ours.