Love That Faces the Danger We’d Rather Ignore
“So that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” - John 3:16b (CSB)
There is a word in John 3:16 that we often rush past because it disrupts the comfort of the verse. It is the word perish. We hurry toward eternal life without sitting in the reality of what Jesus says happens without Him.
Jesus does not speak of perishing as a hypothetical threat or a scare tactic. He presents it as the default condition of humanity apart from rescue. This is not the language of exaggeration. It is the language of diagnosis. And it matters that these words come from Jesus Himself.
The gospel does not begin by telling us we are almost okay. It begins by telling us we are in real danger. Scripture consistently describes humanity as spiritually dead, guilty, and separated from God. Perishing is not what happens to especially bad people. It is what happens to all people apart from Christ.
This is why God’s love had to move toward us. If the problem were ignorance, Jesus could have come as a teacher. If the problem were poor habits, He could have come as a guide. But He did not. He came to die. That tells us the problem was fatal.
Love does not affirm someone who is perishing. Love intervenes. Love disrupts. Love rescues. God did not send His Son because humanity needed encouragement. He sent His Son because humanity needed saving.
This truth humbles us. If we are perishing, then we bring nothing to the table. We do not negotiate terms. We do not contribute to our rescue. We receive it. And that runs against every instinct we have toward self-reliance and self-justification.
The offense of the gospel is not that it calls us perishing. The offense is that it says we need saving. But that offense is also our hope. Because if we are truly in danger, then God’s love is not sentimental. It is strong enough to confront reality and merciful enough to do something about it.
Reflection Question
How does acknowledging the reality of perishing reshape the way you understand God’s love and your need for Christ?
Love does not deny danger. Love moves toward it with rescue.
Prayer
God, I confess how easily I soften the truth about my condition apart from You. Thank You for loving me enough to tell me the truth and strong enough to rescue me from it. Help me receive Your love with humility, trusting not in myself but fully in Christ. Amen.
There is a word in John 3:16 that we often rush past because it disrupts the comfort of the verse. It is the word perish. We hurry toward eternal life without sitting in the reality of what Jesus says happens without Him.
Jesus does not speak of perishing as a hypothetical threat or a scare tactic. He presents it as the default condition of humanity apart from rescue. This is not the language of exaggeration. It is the language of diagnosis. And it matters that these words come from Jesus Himself.
The gospel does not begin by telling us we are almost okay. It begins by telling us we are in real danger. Scripture consistently describes humanity as spiritually dead, guilty, and separated from God. Perishing is not what happens to especially bad people. It is what happens to all people apart from Christ.
This is why God’s love had to move toward us. If the problem were ignorance, Jesus could have come as a teacher. If the problem were poor habits, He could have come as a guide. But He did not. He came to die. That tells us the problem was fatal.
Love does not affirm someone who is perishing. Love intervenes. Love disrupts. Love rescues. God did not send His Son because humanity needed encouragement. He sent His Son because humanity needed saving.
This truth humbles us. If we are perishing, then we bring nothing to the table. We do not negotiate terms. We do not contribute to our rescue. We receive it. And that runs against every instinct we have toward self-reliance and self-justification.
The offense of the gospel is not that it calls us perishing. The offense is that it says we need saving. But that offense is also our hope. Because if we are truly in danger, then God’s love is not sentimental. It is strong enough to confront reality and merciful enough to do something about it.
Reflection Question
How does acknowledging the reality of perishing reshape the way you understand God’s love and your need for Christ?
Love does not deny danger. Love moves toward it with rescue.
Prayer
God, I confess how easily I soften the truth about my condition apart from You. Thank You for loving me enough to tell me the truth and strong enough to rescue me from it. Help me receive Your love with humility, trusting not in myself but fully in Christ. Amen.
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