Have you ever thought about John 3:16? I mean really thought about it? If you are like me and grew up in church or have been around church for a long time, this may be one of the first verses you were told or memorized. “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” The Passion Translation says, “For this is how much God loved the world – he gave his one and only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life.” This verse is a fundamental verse for the Christian faith. It serves basically as the pathway to restore our broken relationship with God and experience eternal life with Him.
One of the really wonderful parts about God is that Jesus dying for our sins was all planned ahead of time. Did you know that? In I Peter 1:18-21, the writer tells us that Jesus dying on the cross for our sins was planned “before the foundation of the earth was laid”. That means that before God created Adam and Eve, He knew that sin would enter the world through them and their poor choices. God chose to create Adam and Eve anyway. God knew before He created the world what His son would have to endure to bring man back into right relationship with Himself and save us from Satan. God created the world anyway.
What does that say about God? To me, that shows the intensity of His love for us. God loves us so much He was willing to pay the ultimate price for us before He had even created one thing on Earth! For me, it is difficult to wrap my head around that much love.
God is also a very personal God. The Bible says in Psalm 139 beginning in verse 13, “You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside and my intricate outside, and wove them all together in my mother’s womb.” The Psalmist continues in verse 16, “You saw who you created me to be before I became me! Before I’d ever seen the light of day, the number of days you planned for me were already recorded in your book.” God formed us and shaped us and created us inside and out. No matter the circumstances of your birth or what type of environment you were born into, God formed you, and God planned you.
That means before God created one blade of grass, one drop in the ocean, one star in the sky, He already knew about you. He knew who you were, when you would be born, and already had a plan in place to restore relationship with you. God’s desire is that none shall perish or be separated from Him. Romans 8:38-39 says, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The only thing that can separate us from God’s love is our choice to do so. I encourage you during this Easter season to reconnect with God’s love for you. Sit and think about how much He loves you and let His love fill your heart. Maybe that is a common practice for you and you just need to be refreshed. Maybe you have never asked God to come into your heart like that before. He is just waiting for you to ask. He loves you more than you can imagine. The whole reason He created us was for joy of relationship, and He gave all He had for that relationship. And the reason he sent His son to the earth to be beaten and bruised and die was to secure that relationship with us.
You know the best part of the Easter story? Jesus did not stay on the cross or in a tomb. Matthew 28:5,6 describes the scene when Jesus’ friends go to visit His tomb. The stone at the tomb had been rolled away and He was not there. “The women were breathless and terrified until the angel said to them, ‘There’s no reason to be afraid. I know you’re here looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here – he has risen victoriously, just as he said!’” Jesus died for our sins and then rose from the dead three days later victorious over all sin and death! He not only died so that we could have life but abundant life. We can choose to live a life full of victory with Jesus! God loves us more than we can understand, and He is inviting us to live with Him in all that He has for us. I encourage you to look at any area of your life that you do not feel victorious and invite God in. He greatly desires for you to live in the most abundant life possible.