God so loved the world... God so loves the world...

When polls are done as they sometimes are about the most well known bible verse, a common winner is John 3:16 – ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.’

Here Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus, a Pharisee – a group of people usually opposed to Jesus. But Nicodemus had come to speak to Jesus – he had seen what he had been doing, heard his teaching and wanted to know more. And so he came at night and began to question Jesus.

Coming at night meant he came in secret, afraid perhaps of being seen by other Pharisees – it’s interesting that after this exchange we next hear Nicodemus spoken about as part of the Jewish Council – he actually spoke up for Jesus but was ignored. Nevertheless he had already made a journey of faith and courage – from meeting Jesus in secret he was now prepared to try and defend him amongst people who hated Jesus – and then later we see him a third time. This time he is joining with Joseph ofArimathea in asking for the body of Jesus in order to bury him.

For Nicodemus the journey of faith was a quiet one – he came in secret asking questions of Jesus. He thought about them and responded when he knew Jesus faced death, and he was there at the death of Jesus, looking to provide a decent burial.

And for most of us our journey of faith is just that as well – a journey. There will be ups and downs and doubts and triumphs, but I wonder if we can just hold fast to the words of that one verse whether life can’t be just a little easier.  

A man joined the priesthood. The order he joined could not speak for seven years.  Then they were onlyallowed to say 2 words. The first seven years passed and they went into a small room.  His 2 words were "too cold".

The next seven years passed and they took him back into the small room and his 2 words were "bad food".

The next seven years passed they took him back into the small room and his 2 words were "I quit".

"Good", they said, "all you have done is complain."

Recently I’ve been to a lot of meetings talking about strategies for the future of the church and I’ve visited a lot of churches and one of the alarming perceptions people have is that the church is prettymiserable ! And I don’t really think that’s true.

Certainly a church that talks more about buildings and money than about a wonderful Saviour is going in the wrong direction – but whether your hopes for the future of the church fill you with gloom or joy this bible verse is for you.

It begins ‘For God so loved the world’. Simple words that we could easily overlook and yet words which are incredibly powerful. There’s a story about a little boy in Chicago who was selling newspapers one night when a blizzard began. Freezing cold he walked up to a policeman and asked him if he knew of anywhere he could stay for the night. The policeman looked down at the little boy and said, "You go down the street to that big white house and you knock on  the door.  When they come out the door you just say John  3:16 and they will  let you in." 

So he did, he walked up the steps to the door, and knocked on  the door and a lady answered.  He looked up and said,  "John 3:16." 

The lady said "Come on in, Son." She took him in and she sat him down in front of a great big fireplace and she went off. He sat there for a while, and thought to himself  "John 3:16....I don't  understand it, but it sure makes a cold boy warm."

Later the lady of the house came back and asked him if he was hungry. Having not eaten for a couple of days he was desperate for food so the lady took him in the kitchen and sat him down to a table full of wonderful food. He ate and ate until he couldn't eat any more.  Then he thought to himself "John 3:16... Boy, I still don't understand it, but it sure makes a  hungry boy full." 

She took him upstairs to a bathroom to a huge bath filled with warm water and he sat there and soaked for a while.  As he soaked, he thought to himself, "John 3:16... I still don't understand it, but it sure makes a dirty boy clean.

Later, the lady came in and got him, and took him to a room and tucked him into a big old feather bed and  pulled the covers up around his neck and kissed him goodnight and  turned out the lights. As he lay in the darkness and looked out the window at the snow coming down on that cold night he thought to himself, "John 3:16... I don't understand it, but it sure makes a tired boy rested." 

The next morning she came back up and took him down again to that same big table full of food. After he ate she sat with him and she took out a Bible and she looked up at and asked, "Do you understand John 3:16?"  He said, "No, I don't. The first time I ever heard it was last night  when the policeman told me to use it."  She opened the Bible to John 3:16,  and she began to explain to him about Jesus. He sat there and thought, "John 3:16.  I don't understand it, but it sure makes a lost boy feel safe." 

And the lady explained that she didn’t really understand it either - how God would be willing to send His Son to die for us – She didn’t understand but she knew it made life worth living… God is interested in every part of our lives – he is interested in us when we’re cold or sad or lonely or hungry, he’s interested in us when we have no home, he’s interested about us when we’re tired or ill or depressed. No matter how we are or where we are God cares – Jesus died and rose again for us…

And that one phrase, ‘God so loved the world’ reminds us that in all of the pain of the world – in the misery that we can see or hear about all too often, God loves the world, and the world is a special place. This isn’t a place that is broken or useless and it’s not a place that we endure while we’re here. It’s a place for us to cherish full of people we are to cherish. God loves the world and we are to be God to others.

And we’re reminded of how much he loves the world in the second part of the verse.  

‘He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.’ Each one of us is that important to God that he gave Jesus to suffer and die for us – not to make us feel guilty or ashamed, not to make us feel miserable about the pain we’ve caused, but to show that out of incredible darkness, God brings light and renewal and rebirth.

That is what we are to show to the world – that is what the church and we who make up that church are called to do. A colleague of mine said at a meeting recently that he didn’t think God was too worried about whether the Church in Wales survived or not.

It got him in a bit of trouble with some people, but actually the point he was making was that God isn’t worried about individual churches or denominations but about his growing kingdom. Whilst sometimes individual churches will close, God’s mission and God’s power and God’s love are never diminished – as the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, said, ‘Mission is about finding out what God is doing in the world, and joining in.’

What is God doing with us ? What is he calling us to do or be ? What is he challenging us to be involvedin ? What is he saying to us as a church ?

I think it may well be to go back to that first part of the verse and recognise two things. Firstly that we are loved – we are amongst those whom God cares about passionately. He is interested in us. We can know and be confident that we are loved. In Liverpool Cathedral, there’s a large lit up sign over the maindoor which isn’t to everybody’s liking, but it says, ‘I felt you and I knew you loved me.’ As we feel God, as we see signs of his presence in creation and in one another and in the world around us, let us be sure we are loved.

And that will lead to the second thing to recognise and that is that God doesn’t just love us – he loves the world and all the people in it. It’s a huge concept for us to grasp as we struggle with some people and with their ideas and thoughts and behaviour, but God sees every person as precious, and he challenges us to seek to love people everywhere.

We have a wonderful gospel to proclaim – good news for all the earth to share as the hymn puts it – may we share that gospel, helping to build not a church, but a kingdom, the kingdom of God, knowing always that he is with us… and he loves us… AMEN