John 3:16
By Stephanie Moody
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 - it is widely regarded as one of the most quoted verses in the Bible. According to a digital survey by World Vision, it is the most popular Bible verse globally, with an average monthly search volume of 2.1 million searches across 172 countries.
It is considered the cornerstone of the Christian faith and the gospel message - the good news that God’s sacrificial love saved us when we had no way of saving ourselves. A similar passage is found in Romans 5:8: “But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” How can we begin to understand the depth of that love?
When we endeavor to contemplate God’s love for us, we look to passages like 1 John 4:19, which states, “We love because He first loved us,” and 1 John 4:8, which gives us the very definition of love by stating that “God is love.” Love is who God is. Nothing shows this more fully than His willingness to let His only Son suffer and die in our place.
He loved us first when we were unlovable. Can you wrap your mind around that? I can’t. But, the more I try to grasp it, the more grateful, humble, and in awe I feel. How could we do anything but praise God, who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light and has made us His children? (1 Peter 2:9; Galatians 3:26)
Beyond those deep emotions and outpouring of adoration, God expects our response to be one of obedience. John 14:15 makes it crystal clear when Jesus says, “If you love Me you will keep My commandments.” We can’t claim to love God, if we aren’t living a life in humble submission.
God expects another response from us; He expects us to love other people. It’s one thing to love a perfectly loving God, and even to submit to His will by keeping His commandments, but loving others is where it can get really difficult for us. John’s writings include many instructions for us to love others. We can’t even claim to have love if we don’t show love to others (1 John 4:9).
Would you agree that people are sometimes unlovable - maybe even a lot of times? I know that I am! But if we love like God loves, we will try with all of our might to find a way to love - even the most unlovable. We love others by humbly serving them, sharing the gospel message with them, and praying for them. After all, the first in the list of the Fruit of the Spirit is love. The Holy Spirit equips us, and it’s God’s love that courses through us and pours out to others.
I love the way it’s stated in John 13:34-35: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” What a beautiful thought! The way we love others shows the world that we are God’s followers.
Sometimes that love looks like bringing a sick neighbor a meal. Sometimes it looks like extending an invitation to a Bible study. Sometimes it looks like sitting with someone in their time of distress. Sometimes love looks like including the “unpopular” people in your social circle. Sometimes it looks like holding your tongue - or not typing that heated response on Facebook.
Our relationship with God, through His Son, makes it possible. He loved us first, and that enables us to love others. Do you know what that love will also do? It will lead us to love ourselves less.
Galatians 2:20 reads, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”
Crucifying self is absolutely not what the world tells us to do. We are told to live our best lives, pursue our dreams, and seek personal satisfaction and happiness above all else. Even the most noble voices in our culture often endorse a self-centered mindset . We’ve seen this in recent years through the popularization of the term “self-care.” I’m afraid many women have been deceived and have fallen into self-centered, materialistic pursuits as a result.
You know I’m about to give a disclaimer, so here it is: yes, Christian women are to be good stewards of the life and health God has given them. He warns us of the destructive evils of drunkenness, gluttony, and laziness. We can heartily approve of self-care if what we’re talking about is good nutrition, exercise, and adequate rest - both physical and mental.
As women, we often find ourselves in the role of caregiver - whether it’s caring for children, aging parents, or members of our church families. We are much better equipped to serve if we have nourished the vessel God gave us.
It’s also critically important for us to take the time to commune with God in prayer and to study His Word - really study it. Our spiritual self-care - or maybe we should call it “soul-care” - is what matters most.
I want us to be careful to avoid the worldly aspects of “self-care.” The only way we can be the loving servants God wants us to be is by putting the interests of others before our own (Philippians 2:4). Let’s encourage each other to be countercultural - to be more concerned about washing people’s feet than going to get a pedicure.
When I taught preschool, our letter F memory verse was John 3:16. I always emphasized the word “so”: “For God SO loved the world, that He gave His only Son.” I wanted my little girls to understand that His love is BIG - so big that God gave His very own Son for us! Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep. He says, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10-11).
Let’s respond to that gift of life by loving Him, obeying Him, loving others more, and loving ourselves less. May the way we love people around us compel those who haven’t found Him to seek Him. You know, everyone is looking for love, but really what they are looking for is God.