December 5th
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
Growing up attending church, as a Girls in Action attendee (it’s like Girl Scouts but for church), and as a Bible Drill dropout (we were timed on how quickly we could find verses in the Bible), John 3:16 was the first Bible verse I remember memorizing. For a long time, though, it lost its importance to me. As someone who has followed Jesus most of her life, I definitely took it for granted. Not that I didn’t believe it or was unthankful for it, but I lost sight of how significant it truly was.
It wasn’t until about five years ago, after my mother-in-law passed unexpectedly, that it hit me. God could have chosen any way for us to have salvation and deal with our sin, but instead, He chose to identify with us—to feel humanity and all that entails. The celebrations, the joys, but also the darkness, isolation, and the pain of loss. I was listening to a podcast when I heard Shane Claiborne (a Jesus-loving speaker, activist, and author) share about a Good Friday service he attended. Family members at the service had lost loved ones to gun violence, and he recalled a mother who had lost her 19-year-old son exclaiming, “I get it! God understands my pain. God knows how I feel. God watched His Son die too.” Wow. A Savior who has been where I have been, all because He loves me and wants me to truly experience life.
Recently, this verse has grown even deeper in meaning through John Wagler’s sermon series on the Gospel of John. This verse isn’t just about experiencing life with Jesus after death (which is great on its own and abounds in hope). God wants me to experience life NOW, on earth, through the hope of Jesus. Because of the love and hope of Jesus Christ, we can have JOY now. Not just later. THAT is why we have all the lights that represent Christmas: the candle lights, the twinkling lights on trees and houses, the stars hanging on buildings and trees. We are capable of having light, even in the darkest times, because we have a God who gets it and understands. We have hope.
This Advent season, I encourage you, whenever you pass by a Christmas light display, to ask yourself, “How can I be a light to _______________ (my family, friends, kids, my grumpy neighbor, my complaining coworker, etc.)?” Because knowing we have life through Christ is wonderful, but if we truly believe, we too are called to be a light right now.
-chara robinson