The Implications of John 3:16

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:32-36 NIV)

John 3:16 is probably the most recognized verse of Scripture in the world.  People, who know little or nothing of the Bible, probably are at least aware of this reference, even if they don’t know what it says.  “For God so loved the world…” It is often displayed on signs at sporting events.  Back in the 80’s, a guy wearing a rainbow-colored wig was a fixture behind the goalposts of NFL games holding up a sign saying, “JOHN 3:16.”  And former NFL player Tim Tebow was known to write John 3:16 on the eye black patches under his eyes on game days.

Everyone knows of it, but do we fully understand its significance and implications?    What does it mean that God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son?  This teaching from Jesus clarifies it for us.

It is always easy to love those who are loveable or who love us in return.  But how easy is it to love those who are ungrateful toward our love or even just plain wicked?  How easy is it to love our enemies, those who despise us, or those who have harmed us or want to do us harm?  For most of us, it is impossible even to imagine that kind of love. “For God so loved the world…”

When you place these passages side by side, then you begin to realize the depth of God’s love.  He didn’t just give His Son for the sake of those who love Him, but also for those who hate Him, those who benefit from His love but who have no appreciation for it, and those who don’t even believe He exists!  Can anyone of us love like that?  Can we even conceive of loving someone like Hitler or an Islamic terrorist?  Or, perhaps closer to home, someone who has deeply betrayed or hurt us? Probably not.  But God did and that’s what makes John 3:16 so significant and so amazing.

The world is full of wicked people and people who are ungrateful to their Creator; yet God still loves them and is merciful toward them.  And, He calls us to do the same.  “For God so loved the world…”

Today, know the implications of John 3:16 are huge for each of us who follow the Lord.  We love because He first loved us (I John 4:19), including the ungrateful and the wicked. If we are His ambassadors (II Corinthians 5:20), then we must do the same.  

© Jim Musser 2016