God Loved, God Gave, & Now Anybody Who Believes Can Have

Why? Because of now and then.

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. — Jesus, John 3:16, the message version

{Quick Review: this is the fourth of four blogs on what’s probably the best-known Bible verse. If you’re blank on the first three in this series, scroll down for them and then I’ll see you back here.]

What’s the point? Why did God go to all this trouble?.

So that by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. 

God’s “why” is rooted in God’s love and is about now and then.

Now, as in anyone can have a whole life now, and then a lasting life when this one is over.

Christ Jesus went so far as to promise us this —

I came so [you] can have real and eternal life,

more and better life than [you] ever dreamed of.

— That’s John 10:10b.

God loved and God gave.

When we believe, we can have.

Is it really that simple?

Yes, and it’s simply wonderful —

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. — Jesus, John 3:16, the message version