What God Gave

John 3:16 is the most widely quoted verse in the Bible, and has been called the most famous Bible verse.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son," it begins. God gave his son. 

That verse sounds so innocent. Like I gave my kids dinner last night. You gave a friend a gift. We gave a concert performance at church. Gave. God gave his son...to die for us. I don't know, I feel like that verse should say more. God gave his son's life. God gave away his heavenly relationship with his precious son. Jesus gave away paradise to walk the earth, full of sinners, and to be falsely accused and murdered! "Gave" just seems like such a weak word for all that happened.

The rest of the verse says, "that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." Whoever. You. Me. Them. Whoever. God gave the greatest gift to us of all times. He gave us his son, to pay the price for our sins, so that we would have eternal life.  And he did it for everyone.  And that word, "believes," isn't just talking about head knowledge, but heart knowledge.

Sometimes when we are very familiar with something, we just spout it out without thought, and I think John 3:16 qualifies in that category. So the next time you are tempted to quickly recite John 3:16, remember what was truly given, what that belief entails, and what you have received as a result.

 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. John 3:16, Amplified Bible

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com