GIFT OF GOD
What is the most familiar verse in the Bible? Most people would say,
John 3:16 – and rightly so. Nearly all believers have it memorized.
I’ll never get tired of it. The limitless wealth and timeless truth of the
whole Gospel message is captured in that one verse. I wish the whole
world knew it by heart.
I have often meditated on the significance of the first nine words:
“For God so loved the world that He gave…” That short phrase teaches
us two profound characteristics of God:
He is a loving God.
He is a generous and giving God.
It is one thing to say, “I love you.” But to express that love through a
tangible transaction – especially one of great cost – that’s another
thing entirely. Real love is about action, not mere words. And giving
is an indispensable act of love.
THE
GIFT
OF
GOD
When I proposed to my wife, I told her that I loved her. But my words
were not enough. After telling her that I loved her, I showed her by getting
down on one knee and giving her a diamond ring. That ring was a
demonstration of my love. When she accepted it, she accepted me.
John wrote that God loved the world so much that He gave. But what
was His gift? A diamond? A planet? A universe?
No! It was so much more.
Listen to the way Paul puts it: “Thanks be to God for His indescribable
gift!” (2 Cor 9:15). Or the New Living Translation renders it this way:
“Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!”
God’s gift was unimaginably priceless.
God is the triune God. The Bible presents Him as one God, yet existing
as three Persons: Our Heavenly Father, the Creator of the universe; the
Son, Jesus Christ, who came into this world as a man of flesh and blood
and died on the Cross for us; and the Holy Spirit who lives within us
when we are born again, making us children of God.
The entire triune God was fully invested in the sacrifice of Jesus
Christ, and suffered together at great personal cost
God loved us
so much
that He gave
His all.
I have discovered that the more I preach it, the more I see it, and the
more addicted I become to its beauty. It is the love story of all love
stories.
It is the story that has captured human hearts for 2,000 years in an
unprecedented way. And it is the message we boldly proclaim all
year long!
A scrap of paper on the floor…
I have heard the story of a young, Catholic girl from Germany in the
1500s, whose religious upbringing taught her that God was fearsome
and angry. Her father happened to be a book printer, who printed
copies of the German Bible translated by Luther against the will of the
Catholic Church. One day his young daughter found a scrap of paper on
the floor, a fragment from an unused print of the Bible. The tiny paper
contained eight words from John 3:16: “God so loved the world that He
gave…” But the rest of the verse was missing.
The statement intrigued her. She read it to herself over and over: “God
so loved the world that He gave.” She liked it so much that she kept it
close to her heart and read it every day. She was raised to view God
only as just and holy, hating sin and raging against sinners. But she
had never read that God loved her so much that He gave – though she
did not know exactly what He had given.
Still, the revelation brought such joy to her heart that she would
continually sing. When her mother noticed the happy little girl, she
asked, “What is the matter with you?” “Oh mother it is wonderful,” she
said, pulling out the little sliver of paper. “Read what it says: ‘God so
loved the world that He gave...’” “Gave what?” her mother asked. “I
don’t know, but if He loved me enough that He gave anything at all, I
will never be afraid of Him again.”
On a recent trip to India I met a young man named Jonathan who had
a wonderful testimony of coming to Christ. Jonathan had come from
a long line of devout Hindus. For many years he faithfully worshipped
several of Hindu’s innumerable gods.
Jesus gave me live!
But when Jonathan learned about Jesus Christ he discovered one key
difference that set Jesus apart from all other gods. “The Hindu gods
take and take,” he said, “but Jesus came to give – and He gave me life.”
Jonathan had discovered the God who gives.
Daniel Kolenda
Years
Jahre
Postfach 60 05 74
60335 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Tel +49 (69) 4 78 78 0
Fax +49 (69) 4 78 78 1020
info@cfan.eu
www.cfan.eu
English
November 2015 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
John 3:16 – and rightly so. Nearly all believers have it memorized.
I’ll never get tired of it. The limitless wealth and timeless truth of the
whole Gospel message is captured in that one verse. I wish the whole
world knew it by heart.
I have often meditated on the significance of the first nine words:
“For God so loved the world that He gave…” That short phrase teaches
us two profound characteristics of God:
He is a loving God.
He is a generous and giving God.
It is one thing to say, “I love you.” But to express that love through a
tangible transaction – especially one of great cost – that’s another
thing entirely. Real love is about action, not mere words. And giving
is an indispensable act of love.
THE
GIFT
OF
GOD
When I proposed to my wife, I told her that I loved her. But my words
were not enough. After telling her that I loved her, I showed her by getting
down on one knee and giving her a diamond ring. That ring was a
demonstration of my love. When she accepted it, she accepted me.
John wrote that God loved the world so much that He gave. But what
was His gift? A diamond? A planet? A universe?
No! It was so much more.
Listen to the way Paul puts it: “Thanks be to God for His indescribable
gift!” (2 Cor 9:15). Or the New Living Translation renders it this way:
“Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!”
God’s gift was unimaginably priceless.
God is the triune God. The Bible presents Him as one God, yet existing
as three Persons: Our Heavenly Father, the Creator of the universe; the
Son, Jesus Christ, who came into this world as a man of flesh and blood
and died on the Cross for us; and the Holy Spirit who lives within us
when we are born again, making us children of God.
The entire triune God was fully invested in the sacrifice of Jesus
Christ, and suffered together at great personal cost
God loved us
so much
that He gave
His all.
I have discovered that the more I preach it, the more I see it, and the
more addicted I become to its beauty. It is the love story of all love
stories.
It is the story that has captured human hearts for 2,000 years in an
unprecedented way. And it is the message we boldly proclaim all
year long!
A scrap of paper on the floor…
I have heard the story of a young, Catholic girl from Germany in the
1500s, whose religious upbringing taught her that God was fearsome
and angry. Her father happened to be a book printer, who printed
copies of the German Bible translated by Luther against the will of the
Catholic Church. One day his young daughter found a scrap of paper on
the floor, a fragment from an unused print of the Bible. The tiny paper
contained eight words from John 3:16: “God so loved the world that He
gave…” But the rest of the verse was missing.
The statement intrigued her. She read it to herself over and over: “God
so loved the world that He gave.” She liked it so much that she kept it
close to her heart and read it every day. She was raised to view God
only as just and holy, hating sin and raging against sinners. But she
had never read that God loved her so much that He gave – though she
did not know exactly what He had given.
Still, the revelation brought such joy to her heart that she would
continually sing. When her mother noticed the happy little girl, she
asked, “What is the matter with you?” “Oh mother it is wonderful,” she
said, pulling out the little sliver of paper. “Read what it says: ‘God so
loved the world that He gave...’” “Gave what?” her mother asked. “I
don’t know, but if He loved me enough that He gave anything at all, I
will never be afraid of Him again.”
On a recent trip to India I met a young man named Jonathan who had
a wonderful testimony of coming to Christ. Jonathan had come from
a long line of devout Hindus. For many years he faithfully worshipped
several of Hindu’s innumerable gods.
Jesus gave me live!
But when Jonathan learned about Jesus Christ he discovered one key
difference that set Jesus apart from all other gods. “The Hindu gods
take and take,” he said, “but Jesus came to give – and He gave me life.”
Jonathan had discovered the God who gives.
Daniel Kolenda
Years
Jahre
Postfach 60 05 74
60335 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Tel +49 (69) 4 78 78 0
Fax +49 (69) 4 78 78 1020
info@cfan.eu
www.cfan.eu
English
November 2015 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
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