So Great a Salvation

People use the word love so much today. My wife is the love of my life. I loved playing football in college. As they say in the south, Id's love me some barbeque and hush puppies right now. There are so many common uses of the word love that we lose the depth of its meaning. We flipantly approach the whole notion of love even when we read about it in the Scruptures. John, however understood the depths of the love that God had for him and the had for Christ. It is John, afterall that quoted Jesus as saying, "For God so loved the world." It is John who describes himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. It is John who in his first epistle says, "How great the love the Father has lavished on us." John knew love. He knew experientially as he walked with Christ. He saw Christ's love as he stood at the foot of the cross and received the divin instructions to take care of Jesus' mother. He also knew the love of Christ propositionally. What I mean by that is he heard the monumental statments made by Christ regarding the love of God. These statments stand as truth regardless of our circumstances or experiences. Whether we "feel" God's love or not, these statements about God's love are real. There may be no greater statment of God's love for man than we find in the third chapter of John's Gospel. It is probably the most quoted passage in all of Scripture. It describes the love that God has for his creation, and maybe more importantly it unpacks the depths of God's love so that we may stand together and see the reached to which God goes to demonstrate the love he has for us.

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 everlasting life.