Read John 3:16-17
Someone said John 3:16 is the whole Bible in one verse! No doubt, it still is the most quoted verse in the Bible, and it does contain the essential elements of God’s plan for our redemption. When it is read in the context of our Lord’s conversation with Nicodemus, we can get a good picture of the doctrine of the “incarnation”: God sending His Son, not to condemn the world for not believing in Him, but to save the world, so they would believe in Him. Love is the central theme of God’s actions regarding our salvation. But, contrary to the many gospel presentations today, God’s gift of eternal life was not just the promise of a future with Him in heaven, but rather that we might have a meaningful relationship with Him while we live on this earth.
When we stop to consider the incredible gift of God’s Son to be our Savior, certainly it must mean more to us than our “get out of hell” card when we die. Our eternal life with God begins the moment we are truly born again, and as we observe how He makes our lives so much more meaningful and purposeful than they were before, we can’t wait to see what He has in store for us in the future! That’s the joy of advent!
Beloved, the assurance of our eternal salvation must not rest upon some emotional or mental “decision” we made about Jesus many years ago, but rather upon the depth of our delight in Him and our devotion to Him today.