John 3:16
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16 KJV
Every child who has gone to Sunday School has learned this verse. And, in spite of all the posters at sporting events, this particular verse is worth the time to understand.
God loved the world. This does not mean that God had warm fuzzy feelings about His creation and what had become of it. God loved the world in much the same way a good parent loves their child.
This love is of the type that desires that the loved one be the best person they can be. This type of love does what is necessary to assist the loved one move toward perfection (even though we doubt perfection will ever be attained).
C.S.Lewis said Love continues to love in spite of flaws, but does not cease to will their removal. When the Bible says that God loved, this is the love to which it refers.
So, God desired ultimate accomplishment for His creation and was willing to do everything in His power to make that happen.
God gave His only begotten son. This is Jesus, who was not only human, but also God. This not being the place to explain the doctrine of the trinity, let's just say that God was willing to separate Himself from his Godly attributes and reside in the man Jesus. He put all His eggs in one basket.
God did this so that whoever believed in His son would not perish/die/be eternally separated from God and life.
Here is where things get a little confusing. Our use of the word believe has quite a wide range of certainty. We can say, "I believe John will be here in ten minutes," or "I believe the brakes on my car work." In the first statement, your confidence is minimal, possibly so low that you wouldn't wager on the outcome. In the second statement, your confidence is high enough that you'll literally bet your life.
It is this second type of belief that this verse is speaking of. The belief that causes you to act on it. "I have confidence in my brakes, therefore I will drive my car" translates to "I have confidence in Jesus therefore I'll follow His lead."
This is the way to be a Christian. Recognize that God desires you're perfection enough to put all His eggs in one basket so as to give you the best example possible to follow so that you will not be eternally separated from Him, the source of life.
posted by Russel Trojan @ 7:57 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
russel, great post, although you have made the parallel of God and Humans to parent and child quite a bit, for some reason this one really made me think about that.
That thought is very "evolutionary", rational and makes sense.
"that God was willing to separate Himself from his Godly attributes and reside in the man Jesus."
-- Quite "mystical" and science fiction like, kind of like Scientology, just kidding, their science fiction goes to the far limits.
"This is the way to be a Christian. Recognize that God desires you're perfection enough to put all His eggs in one basket so as to give you the best example possible to follow so that you will not be eternally separated from Him, the source of life."
---- So why is this important? What are the ramifications to God or us, if we are seperated from God?
"What are the ramifications to God or us, if we are seperated from God?"
There are no ramifications to God if we're separated. We could ask, what are the ramifications to air if we quit breathing and the answer would be similar. The ramifications to us, on the other hand, are enormous.
One view says that the effects would be the same as a light bulb separated from electricity. While it would still exist, it would be without the key ingredient that makes it's existence worthwhile.
Some have postulated that we exist only because God pays attention to us (Paul says in Romans, "in Him we move and live and have our being"). I believe that either Plato or Aristotle thought this way as well. The result being that if we were fully separated from God, then we would cease to exist.
From my perspective, God is the source of all good. There is nothing good without a connection to God. So, separation from God becomes separation from everything good. What's left is the corruption and perversion -- hell.
Kinda remindes me of post from your other blog, What's love got to do with it. It's always encouraging to see consistency from a writer. It proves your reasoning is linear.
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