Seeking Jesus First Jan. 27, 2026
For God So Loved the World
Today’s Reading: John 3:1–21
(Read the full passage before reflecting below.)
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16, NKJV)
Few verses in Scripture are as familiar—or as profound—as these words spoken by Jesus. Yet their depth is easy to overlook precisely because they are so well known. In one sentence, Jesus reveals the motive, the action, and the invitation at the very heart of the Gospel: God loved. God gave. We believe.
God’s love is not presented here as an abstract idea or distant sentiment. It is active, intentional, and costly. This was not a detached experiment, as though humanity were a failed project that could be discarded and replaced. Scripture reveals something far more personal. God’s love for the world shows His heart for His creation—for men and women made in His image, even when they were broken by sin.
This stands in sharp contrast to the gods imagined by the Greeks and Romans—deities driven by power, pleasure, or indifference. Those gods demanded sacrifice but rarely gave themselves. The God revealed in Jesus Christ is altogether different. He does not stand aloof from human suffering; He enters it. He does not demand life from humanity; He gives His own Son for humanity.
King David once marveled that God was mindful of man. But here, Jesus takes us far beyond divine mindfulness. God’s love is not that of a benevolent master tolerating servants—it is the love of a Father rescuing His children. Love moved God to act, not to observe.
Jesus says that God gave His only begotten Son. Love is always known by what it gives. This gift was not merely an example or a moral lesson—it was the giving of Himself. In Christ, God stepped fully into the human story to restore what was lost. And the purpose of this gift is clear: “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Love opens the door, but faith is how we enter.
John later echoes this truth in his letters, reminding us that love is not something we define for ourselves. Love is revealed by God and demonstrated through Christ. This is why Jesus would later give His disciples a new commandment: “Love one another as I have loved you.” The standard of love is no longer mere obligation—it is self-giving love modeled by Jesus Himself.
Under the Old Covenant, the law commanded love, but it could not produce it. Under the New Covenant, God does more than command—He transforms. Through the Holy Spirit, believers are given God’s own nature. We are not only told to love; we are empowered to love as God loves. This is family love—the love that flows from sharing the same life.
“For God so loved the world” tells us who God is and why He acts. Everything that follows—the cross, the resurrection, the call to love one another—flows from this truth. Love is not an afterthought in God’s plan; it is the source.
Today, let this familiar verse speak freshly to your heart. God’s love is not theoretical. It is personal. It is sacrificial. And it is the reason salvation exists at all. God loved—and because He loved, He gave.