John 3:16 “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. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”(NIV)
John 3:16 is probably the most famous verse in the Bible. It tells of the true message of Christianity; God’s sacrificial love for all of humanity for eternity. God’s love was shown to everyone by the giving of His son Jesus Christ. The giving of this precious gift is not one to be taken lightly but with great appreciation and understanding. Appreciation of the fact that God did not HAVE to do it and that He did it with pleasure; for our sakes. Understanding that this act of love was not to condemn the world but so that the world could be saved through belief in Jesus Christ (vs.17). The message of God in this passage is that if one believes then they are not condemned but those that do not believe are condemned because they chose not to believe in the name of Jesus Christ (vs.18). God does not condemn but the unbeliever condemns themselves by their choice not to believe (accept) Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah, the Christ and the Savior of all humankind. The focal point of unbelief rests in the mere fact that humans that do not choose to follow God’s way love darkness (the ways of evil) more than Light (the ways of Jesus Christ). When ones deeds are evil darkness provides a nice cover for those deeds, but light exposes all things. God desires that we live our lives in the Light of the example set forth by Jesus Christ. This means that we don’t just ask the question, what would Jesus do? But we set our hearts, minds and actions to DOWHAT JESUS DID.
Living in the Light is crucial in the life of every Christian for a couple of reasons:
1.Light exposes darkness - when we live in the Light of Christ evil is exposed and cannot hide. This is why it is so important for us to continually seek the presence of God in all things so that we will know what is God and what is evil. Light even exposes when evil is camouflaged and appears to be something that it is not
2. Light changes the climate - Light in any room when turned on gives off heat which changes the temperature in the room. As a Christian walking in the Light we should affect the temperature in every room that we enter into. If evil is present it should be not only exposed but effected by the climate change. The more time you spend in the presence of God the more heat your Light gives off.
3. Light provides clarity -The Light of Christ will provide clarity to the life of everyone within its presence. It will clearly show evil for what it is and will clearly illuminate the presence of God so that the believer can see their path in life and not miss their destiny. If you read a map in darkness then you won’t know where you are headed, but when the Light comes on you will be able to clearly see not only your destination but the correct route to take to get there.
Challenge:
Welcome the Light of Christ into all areas of your life to expose evil and provide clarity to God’s plan for you.
