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“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
It’s a verse many of us learned in Sunday School, and perhaps the most well-known verse in the Bible. ‘For God so loved the world.’ What an awesome promise. What an incredible thought. Not a god, THE God. The creator and sustainer of the universe loves us. Make it more personal. He loves me. Insignificant as I am, a stubborn, selfish, weak-willed person. Yet He looks down from heaven and smiles when He sees me.
Fantastic as that truth is, so often we focus our attention on the first part of the verse and relatively little time really thinking about the next part of the verse. ‘He gave his one and only son’. If you are a parent, ask yourself, “If I knew my only child was going to be killed, what would I do to protect him/her? How much money would I spend to keep my child protected? What would I sacrifice to make sure I could enjoy my child’s presence?
It might be easy to say, “Yeah, but He’s God. Sure, He knew Jesus would die, but He also knew Jesus would rise again.” But remember that we are made in God’s image. Our emotional make-up and intellect comes from Him.
A friend of mine (I’ll call John) recently lost his infant son to a rare disease. The disease struck in the morning and took the little ones life before sundown! It was incredibly hard for the family and all those close to John. I hadn’t seen John in several months since the funeral of his one-year-old little boy. As we sat over coffee, John told me how the morning of his son’s death he’d been spoken to regarding sacrifice. “It was as if God was saying to me, ‘will you give me everything?”
John remembers thinking, I can give you everything except I have to admit I’m not sure I’d give you my son. That day God took his son from him. John learned a valuable lesson about what it must have been like for his Heavenly Father when he was separated from His only son.
When Jesus was on earth it was as though He was imprisoned in a foreign land. While His Father could see Him, the relationship was different. When Jesus was dying on the cross, even His Father turned His face from His one and only Son. That’s why, with agony Jesus screamed, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?”
John 3:16 doesn’t just tell us that God loves us. It shows us that God understands what sacrifice means. When we are asked to give everything to God, it’s not an idle statement by a God that hasn’t sacrificed. He loved me so much that He literally gave the only thing He could possibly give, His only Son.
The next time you think the pain of the journey is too great; remember that Jesus endured pain beyond imagination so He could comfort you. When you wonder if you can go on, remember that Jesus’ agony was so great that He sweat great drops of blood. During those times you feel all alone, remember Jesus knew what it was like to have all of his family, and friends reject Him. Even His heavenly Father turned his back on him.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I thank you that you understand my deepest pain. Thank you that in my loneliness you are desperate to be my friend. Thank you for the promise that Your love is eternal and unconditional. I’ve made many mistakes. I struggle with trying to do the right thing. Empower me by your Spirit to learn to live the life of sacrifice for your sake. Amen.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 1 Peter 2:24
Normally we think of healing in a positive sense. Healing removes pain and makes us healthy. But for any of us who have ever had surgery we know that sometimes pain is required in order for us to be healthy. It isn’t fun to go through the pain, but we have to do it in order for us to be able to function.
Just as pain is sometimes is necessary for healing in the physical realm, so it is in the spiritual realm. The reality is, the only way to receive spiritual healing is death. In the garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve broke the relationship with God through their sin, He killed a calf, offered a sacrifice and clothed them with the skin of the animal. From that point on Adam and Eve had a renewed relationship with God.
The problem was they still suffered the consequence of their sin. The relationship with God was never the same for Adam and Eve, or their descendants. From that point on sacrifices had to be made for the sins mankind committed. Every sacrifice meant the death of an animal. But those sacrifices were temporary and had to be repeated time after time in order for mankind to enjoy relationship with God.
When Jesus came, all that changed. The poor choices and sins of mankind still plagued the human race. The difference is that One person offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for ALL of the sins of mankind. The sin I bear is like a cancerous tumor. It’s a fatal disease with no cure. There is no hope for cure except for my death.
But Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead paid the debt for our sin. His wounds heal us from the fatal spiritual disease that threatens to keep us from heaven and fellowship with God. We have a new, healthy spiritual life because of what Jesus did for us on the cross.
Now, imagine that you have suffered from some terrible disease that kept you in a wheelchair. One day a cure was found for your disease and you were free to walk about as normal people. You could run, jump, swim and play just as you’d always hoped you could do. Would you stay in the wheelchair? Of course not! Because of the healing you no longer need it. You are free. You can throw that wheelchair away and never ever think about it again.
In the same way, in the spiritual realm, we are healed. We don’t need to carry the burden of our past with us. Others may say, “Hey, shouldn’t you be in a wheelchair?” But we can say with confidence. NO! I’m free now. None of the things of my past matter. I’ve been healed because of Jesus.
Live life free of your past. Don’t allow the disease of sin to keep you captive any longer. Jesus suffered death so you could have full, abundant life. He sent His Holy Spirit to empower you to live above the effects of the deadly disease of sin.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father. I thank you for the healing and freedom I have in Jesus. I’m forgiven because of His death. He has healed me of my sin. Empower me now to live with the power I have through the Holy Spirit so sin will no longer have dominion in my life. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 