John 3:16 Part 2

John 3:16 Part 2

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever

believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world… I don’t think it’s an accident that this is the most famous
Biblical verse in the Bible. I think God impressed it in our hearts in the hopes that we would
truly and completely understand and be transformed by the message. So much is said in so few
words and the single word I want to focus on today is the word ‘world’.

It doesn’t say that God so loved Christians. It does not say that God so loved those who
follow all the rules and laws. It does not say that God so loved the perfect and righteous. It does
not say that God had any partiality in his love. No. God so loved the world, all of it. From the
very best to the very worst. From the most evil to the most righteous. He loved every skin color.
He loved every nations. He loved everyone regardless of their religion, beliefs, lifestyle or
consequence. God so loved the world.

Until we can truly understand that statement and realize what that means for our own
love, we will never become the people or Christians that God is trying to transform us to be.
God’s love must be our model. It must be our finishing line. It must be the goal we set in our
lives every day that we wake up.
Let’s take a moment at look at the world when this was written. The world empire at that
time was Rome for most of Africa, the Middle East and Europe. This is what history says about
Rome at that time.

The Romans were a notoriously violent society, and their favourite pastimes often reflect that.
Despite the societal development that they experienced, the Romans still lived in relative squalor.
This meant that their everyday lives were often filled with brutal violence. (1)

In Asia there was the Han Dynasty which had a rapid increase of power through conquest
and wars of neighboring nations. Violence was not just common in the world at this time but it
was expected. Even so, God loved them all.

We now live in a world where war is also common place. Bombings, terrorist acts,
invasions and pirating is in the news every day. Division and anger seems to be festering in every
corner of the world. Morally is evolving and changing causing more division, anger and
violence. In almost every aspect of human life, things are not going peacefully and now I ask,
has God’s love changed? No. God, still today, so loves the world.

May we find a way to make God’s love our goal in our lives.

Blessings

Pr. Steven Couto
(1) https://www.learnancientrome.com/how-were-the-ancient-romans-brutal/#Was_life_in_the_Roman_Empire_brutal