January 13
JOHN 3
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” – John 3:16-21
JOHN 3 THOSE WHO HATE THE LIGHT
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Those who do evil things would not want to come to the light
Because darkness is where they hide their wickedness
They do not believe in truth; they want to live in lies
But whoever does what is true comes to the light
Wicked people reject the light who has come into the world
They will perish as they continue to mock the word of God.
These following verses contain the whole message of the gospel in one sentence: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Many people do not truly understand this verse unless they have a consistent relationship with the Lord and unless the Holy Spirit reveals it to their hearts.
How do we know if someone is open to accept the gospel? John gives us an illustration of the separation of good and evil when he mentions the coming of the light (who is Jesus)
into the world. Those who are evil will continue to love darkness since they do not want their sins to be exposed in the light. But those who love the truth will have no trouble getting into the light, so that the world will see God’s glory. They have nothing to hide because they live righteous lives obedient to God’s laws.
REFLECTION
• Why do you think some people do not want to accept and believe in the gospel?
