My Own Personal Jesus

“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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."
John 3:16-18

Ah...John 3:16, those sweet familiar words from the Book that we love. For most people they are the first (and only) words memorized from the Bible. Though, I suppose if you are going to memorize any Scripture, might as well be these words of life.

I wonder with you today, if our familiarity with these words, in conjunction with our self-centered culture, has lead us into an under appreciation of what Jesus is really saying here. Let me see if I can explain.

I can remember a time when I was a youngster, having a well intentioned adult discuss John 3:16 with me and instruct me to personalize the verse by putting my name in place of "the world." So, something like this...

"For God so loved Scott that He gave His one and only Son, that if Scott believes in Him he shall not perish but have everlasting life."

Now, I understand why I was instructed this. The adult wanted to teach me of God's amazing love for me. The fact that even if I was the only one who needed saving unto everlasting life, Jesus still would have come and died. This is a knee-knocking thing to think upon. And truthfully, this is exactly what our self-centered culture longs to hear - faith is about you and your belief in Jesus in the vacuum of an isolated personal relationship. The spotlight is on you and Jesus without much consideration of community or the world we live in.

I see the negative effects a personal relationship with Jesus gone awry can have: Christians more concerned with personal growth than service and love. Christians more concerned with being blessed than being a blessing. Christians more concerned with fulfillment than suffering. Christians more concerned with a need for self-help than using their self to help others.

The reality is, that we need to make all of these concerns a priority.

The reality of things is that Jesus did not say "insert your name." Jesus said that He came out of His love for the whole world and to provide for its everlasting life. The Greek word for world here is cosmos, and it encapsulates all of God's creation that suffered the curse of sin - the earth, the stars, the animals, the plants, and the humans. God's plan in salvation is bigger than saving those humans who come to Him by grace through faith in Christ - it is nothing less than the redemption of the cosmos - a plan that He graciously invites His redeemed children to participate in.

Life in Christ is much more than having your own personal Jesus - it is enjoying the love of God, including everlasting life right now in community with His beloved creation and the saints. And it is sacrificially loving the world as He has, alongside Him in partnership.

Be God's, Scott