God’s Drastic Love 神那极深切的爱
Dexu Xia
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. John 3:16
Today's Scripture John 3:16
Today's Insights Many people are familiar with John 3:16, which describes the scope of God’s love for the world: “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Many, however, misinterpret this verse. They think that if God’s love is so great, no one will “perish.” The critical phrase is “whoever believes in [Jesus].” John also writes, “Whoever does not believe [in Jesus] stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (v. 18). John’s gospel begins with John introducing Christ as the light of the world (1:4-9). Jesus says of Himself, “Light has come into the world,” but people avoid the light “because their deeds [are] evil” (3:19). God is indeed love. But we must respond to His love by believing in His Son, Jesus—the light of the world.
Today's Devotion Daniel was born into a Romanian orphanage. For seven years, he only left his crib to go to the bathroom. When he turned eight, a family from another country adopted him. They knew about attachment disorders—that Daniel could have difficulty attaching to them as his parents. Slowly, Daniel started to trust them. Over time, though, he began to rage to the point his parents hired a bodyguard to protect them from Daniel’s outbursts. They decided on a controversial therapy: For the next five years they were never away from Daniel even if he had a meltdown. On his thirteenth birthday Daniel broke down and, for the first time, told his parents he loved them very much. His mother summarized the experience: “Creating love is not for the soft and sentimental. Love is a battlefield.”
We’re all born knowing that something or someone is missing. Like Daniel, we have an attachment disorder. But God “so loved the world” so much that he took drastic action—“he gave his one and only Son” (John 3:16), meeting us on earth’s battlefield in what we call the Incarnation. “Light has come into the world” (v. 19).
God took drastic measures to demonstrate His great love for the world. For you. His strong, determined Father-heart beats to hear from us the words Daniel’s parents finally heard: “I love you very much.”
Reflect & RequestHow have you felt that something or someone is missing? How can you respond to God’s drastic love for you?
Dear heavenly Father, I love You very much. Thank You for loving me first. By John Blas
“神爱世人，甚至将祂的独生子赐给他们,叫一切信祂的不至灭亡，反得永生。“（约翰福音 3:16）
今日经文：约翰福音 3章16 节
今日感悟：许多人都熟悉约翰福音 3章16节，这节经文描述了神对世人那广阔的爱：“神爱世人，甚至将祂的独生子赐给他们，叫一切信祂的，不致灭亡，反得永生。”然而，许多人误解了这节经文。他们认为，既然神的爱如此伟大，就不会有人“灭亡”了。但其中的关键在于“信[耶稣]的人”。约翰也写道：“不信[耶稣]的人，罪已经定了，因为他不信神独生子的名”（18节）。约翰福音的开篇便将基督介绍为世上的光（1:4-9）。耶稣论到自己时说：“光来到世间”，但人们却躲避光，因为“他们的行为是恶的”（3:19）。神确实就是爱，但我们必须以信心来回应祂的爱,即相信祂的儿子耶稣，也就是那世上的光。
今日灵修：丹尼尔出生于罗马尼亚的一家孤儿院。整整七年里，他除了上厕所，从未离开过自己的小床。他八岁那年，一个来自异国的家庭收养了他。养父母了解到丹尼尔有“依恋障碍”，即丹尼尔可能难以与他们建立亲密的亲子关系。起初，丹尼尔曾慢慢开始信任他的养父母；但随着时间推移，他开始变得暴躁易怒，甚至到了父母不得不雇请保镖来保护自己，免得丹尼尔情绪爆发时伤害他们。后来，他们决定采用一种颇具争议的疗法，就是在接下来的五年里，无论丹尼尔的情绪如何失控，他们都寸步不离地陪伴着他。在丹尼尔十三岁生日那天，他情绪激动，并第一次向父母表达了深深的爱意。他的母亲这样总结这段经历：“建立爱并非软弱或多愁善感之人能成就的事。要爱，就是进入战场。”
就像丹尼尔一样，我们也患有“依恋障碍”，因为我们每个人生来就知道，我们的生命中缺失了什么或某个人。然而，神“如此爱世人”，以至于祂采取了非同寻常的行动，就是差派祂的独生子（约翰福音 3:16），在“道成肉身”这一奥秘中，来到世间的战场上爱我们。“光来到世间”（19节）。 神采取了极大的行动，向世人，也向你，彰显祂那伟大的爱。天父对我们的爱坚定而深切，祂渴望听到我们说出那句丹尼尔的养父母最终听到的话：“我非常爱你。”
反思与祈求 你是否曾感到生命中缺少了什么或某个人？面对神为你付出的这份非同寻常的爱，你将如何回应？ 亲爱的天父，我非常爱你。感谢祢先爱了我。作者：约翰·布莱斯