Almost everyone knows the famous John 3:16: 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. What struck me as I was reading this chapter was that John repeats that spiritual invitation to Jesus again in verse 36 with John the Baptist saying, Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.
Reading these two statements got me thinking. How often has John already witnessed to Jesus as the giver of eternal life or Jesus being the one sent from God? Off hand I can think of at least one other announcement, John 1:12, Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- but let me make a quick perusal for chapter 1&2:
· John 1:17, For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
· John 1:29-34, The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! … I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."
· John 1:31, I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to
· John 1:49, Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of
· John 3:11, I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.
Some of these stand alone and are clear, others declare loudest within their context but no matter how one slices it, John has an agenda. John is writing to convince people to believe in Jesus and receive eternal life.
Have you? Have you put your faith in Jesus? Do you believe in Jesus? Are you born again? Remember that is the implicit question Jesus put to Nicodemus when He said, “You must be born again” (7).
John is writing for a decision and so am I. I made my decision to believe in Jesus, October 3, 1975, have you? You may not have a clear-cut date like I do; having a specific date is not the issue. Believing in Jesus is. So let me put it another way. Right now today, do you believe and affirm that Jesus is your Lord and Savior? Do you believe that He is God, that He has forgiven your sins? Will you believe His word, the Bible and will you follow Him and Him alone for salvation? Through Jesus do you believe in one God, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit and will you forsake any other who would seek to be your spiritual guide? Today will you say, I believe in Jesus, He is the one and only who will direct my life?
O, Lord Jesus, I pray for everyone who reads these words, that they will put their total and complete faith in Jesus. That You Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit, will open their eyes and heart to the truth in Your word and that You will lead them to be faithful disciples. That You will lead them to churches that preach Your word, and that You will lead them to a fellowship of brothers and sisters in Jesus who will walk the road of faith with them until You bring them home to Your glory in heaven when their life on earth concludes. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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