“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 NIV) 

Our highlight verse for today may just be the most quoted verse in the entire Bible. Known by many who do not even know Jesus, the fact that God loves us and that He gave us His most precious possession so that we may be reunited to Him has become, well, commonplace.  

This cannot happen, friends! 

Let’s break this powerful scripture down as it explains the whole reason why Jesus came to earth. 

1. God loves us. 

If God did not love mankind, His creation, Jesus would not have been asked to come to earth to pay the penalty for all the things that anyone – past, present and future – has ever done wrong. It was love that motivated the Father to ask His one and only Son to step down from Heaven and sacrifice His life for ours. 

1. God gave us Jesus. 

Just as a gift should not be earned or achieved, so Jesus is a free gift to us. We have done nothing to deserve Him! Quite the opposite! Humanity is bent on doing the wrong thing from birth. Think about it…have you ever had to show a child how to misbehave? No. It is inherent within us to step outside of the perfect will of God. To that end, we are separated from our perfect, holy Father God. He cannot abide sin (the things we do wrong) and He cannot coexist with it. And so, He sent Jesus… 

1. We must believe in Jesus. 

At one point or another, we all have to take that step of faith to believe that Jesus is who He says He is, i.e. the Son of God. You can read the Bible, ask believers, attend a church even. All of these things are great! But you and I both had to have a little faith before we could receive our salvation. Believing that Jesus is who He says He is has great power. Believing that He is the Son of God who came to earth to die for all the things anyone has ever done wrong in order to swap places with us and our consequences takes faith. But it is faith that we must have in order to inherit the promise.  

1. Through believing in Jesus, we will not perish. 

This fundamental gift of Jesus, I believe, is beyond full human comprehension. If any point covers the question – Why Did Jesus Come – this is it. He came so that we could have a relationship with the Father again. Our sinful lives have separated us from God and only by accepting the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ can we be reconnected to Him. It is in this state of connection that we can live our fullest, most satisfying lives. And when we reach the end of our lives, we will not perish – as scripture promises us – there will be more… 

1. Jesus has bought each of us an eternal life. 

When you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, you passed from death to life. However, this is not the entire story. You also secured your place in eternity with the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit and all the followers of Jesus, past, present and future. Our lives on earth are finite. Our eternities are infinite. You have a glorious inheritance to look forward to follower of Jesus. Be encouraged! 

Father God, 

Thank You, for loving me enough to send Jesus. I cannot fathom the great depth of your love for me. Help me to trust in Jesus all the days of my life here on earth and to receive the forgiveness He offers every day. 

In Jesus’ name, 

Amen.