Monday, March 3, 2008
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD
After explaining to youngsters in Confirmation Instruction Class that in Greek -- the original language of the New Testament -- emphasis can be put on a particular word in a statement by placing it at the beginning of the sentence, I ask them which word they think gets the number one slot in the statement: "God so loved the world."
The correct answer is not often their first guess. After all, it does make perfectly good sense -- and good theology -- to emphasize "God" or "world," but it's that little word "so" that actually comes first in the original.
When told, this one boy asked, "You mean like 'So . . . God loved the world'?" No, rather: "So much did God love the world -- that he gave his only-begotten Son."
I sometimes think that if I told the youngsters to imagine themselves at the foot of the cross of Jesus when answering that question, they'd get it right on the first guess most of the time. The extent of God's love for our fallen world is nowhere more strikingly evident than when we see how fully and completely God gave His only-begotten Son for us sinners.
Being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death--
even death on a cross!
(Philippians 2:8)
O wondrous love, what hast Thou done?
The Father offers up His Son!
The Son, content, descendeth!
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 142:3)
