Every child who attends Sunday school memorizes John 3:16 (I memorized the King James version, and to this day none of the other versions sound “right” to me *grin*, but I do like the readability of the New Living Translation). Oh, the height and the breadth and the depth of God’s loves for us! That He would send His only Son into this world to take the penalty of sin from us is beyond the scope of understanding. God sent Jesus to the world—to those living at the same time as Jesus and to every individual who would ever be born. Jesus came for everyone…but not everyone will believe in Him; His saving grace is offered to every person, but not everyone will receive it. “Everyone who believes” is saved from death to life eternal. We have a choice to believe or not; to receive or not; to submit or not. God didn’t send His son to be our condemner but our Savior. He waits with open arms for any sinner, no matter how deeply mired in the atrocities of the world, to turn with a repentant heart and ask forgiveness. In that moment, guilt and condemnation are gone. (“The vilest offender who truly believes, That moment from Jesus a pardon receives”–To God be the glory!) Eternal life blooms. This is how much God loves.
