A Love Worth the Cross

Let's be honest... John 3:16 was more than likely the first verse you ever memorized. I know it was for me. From Sunday school to Vacation Bible School, John 3:16 was always the verse my church turned to. And at the time, I was just a kid hoping to get a sticker for saying that verse from memory. But as an adult, and as I continue to grow in my faith, I realize just how important this verse is all these years later.

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” How often do we just stop after that verse when verse 17 is just as important?

John 3:17 says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

Jesus knew exactly how his earthly life would end. He knew his purpose was to bear the weight of the cross so that we might be saved through him. And yet, he still chose to love us. He still chose the cross.

This is what makes this verse so much more important than just trying to memorize it for the sake of a sticker. The love Jesus has for us is far deeper and greater than anything we will ever experience in this lifetime. He didn't just talk about how deeply he loved us. He proved it by dying on the cross. He doesn't love us from a distance. He gave his life so that we could know him and spend eternity with him.

I want you to stop and think about that for a moment. Over a thousand years before you and I were even on this earth, God wanted a relationship with us so deeply that he sent his only Son to die on the cross so that we would have that chance. Jesus willingly laid down his life, knowing the pain he would feel, the rejection that would come his way and the suffering he would endure on the cross, all because of his love for us.

The cross wasn't the end of Jesus' life. It was the greatest demonstration of love that we have ever been given. It was a demonstration of a sacrificial love that surpasses any kind of love we will feel as we walk on this earth.

Anytime I think of Jesus' sacrifice and him laying down his life for me, it brings me to tears and gives me chills. It is so hard for my brain to wrap around the fact that he loves me so much that he died for me.

Sometimes I think we become too familiar with John 3:16 and just recite it from memory without realizing how important it is and the weight it holds. I know I have heard it so many times that it almost becomes routine. But there is nothing routine about how much God loved us.

Jesus knew us before we knew him. He made a way for us to know him and to spend eternity with him. And not just as a verse we memorized as children, but for us to know him as our Savior, Redeemer and someone who loves us more deeply than we could ever imagine or understand.

I may have once memorized John 3:16 as a kid hoping to get a sticker, but today, I want to remember it for something so much greater. It is a reminder that I am deeply loved by God.

As we start this new month, I just pray that we walk in the truth that John 3:16 says. And when doubt and insecurities start to creep in, let John 3:16 remind you that you are loved more than you could ever know.

Quiet Time Questions 💬

• John 3:16 is a verse many of us have heard and memorized since childhood. Has hearing it so often ever caused the verse to feel routine to you? Why do you think that happens?
• What stands out to you most about the words “For God so loved the world” after reading John 3:16-17 together?
• Think about the things that can cause you to doubt your worth or feel insecure. How does the truth of John 3:16 speak into those feelings?
• What is one thing you think you sometimes take for granted about Jesus’ sacrifice?
• As you begin this new month, what would it look like for you to intentionally remind yourself of God’s love when doubt or insecurity begins to creep in?
• If you had to explain what John 3:16 means to you now, not as the verse you memorized as a child, but as a follower of Jesus, what would you say?