For God so loved

I've been studying about our upcoming sermon series on John 3:16. This was probably the first verse I learned as a child growing up at Bethel Baptist Church. It was all about 'Belief.' You didn't have to do anything except 'believe.' I wasn't sure what that meant exactly, but I knew I wanted to believe. When I came into the churches of Christ, I didn't hear that verse alot. I heard acts 2:38 and a few others that are C.O.C. standards, but John 3:16...I rarely heard mentioned. Maybe it wasn't spoken of because the premise behind the verse seemed a bit fuzzy. You know, many people look at the bible as instructional. They want to know What to do and in what order to do it. This verse is pretty simplistic and offers no real instruction on how one should 'believe.'

It says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life."

After being involved in the churches of christ, I can see why this isn't a focal point. It's pretty basic. I'm sure people would say, "well of course we know that God loves us. That's a given. Yes you should believe. But if you want to know how to believe you have to read this verse...."

I'm not a proponent of taking one verse and hanging my christianity on it's principles because I think the bible should be looked at as a whole, in context. But the context behind this verse did change everything. Love is explained and an alternative to death is offered. It doesn't explain it all, but then again, which verse does explain everything?

I'll be writing more about this...these are just a few of the things I'm thinking.