Week 32: The One Everybody Knows
Today’s Text: John 3-4
Key Text: John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosover believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
It is probably the most well-known scripture verse in the Bible, at least among Christians.
If you have a little time to kill, it might be interesting to Google how many times that verse has been seen in the printed word. There are people in the world who study things like that.
Well-known, and well-copied, or not – here’s the real question.
Do people really know it?
Do people, especially those who profess to be followers of Christ, really comprehend the full meaning of that famous statement?
Sometimes I wonder.
I don’t mean to sound critical of others when I say that.
I simply mean that I believe in that one sentence comprised of those twenty-five words, there is more spiritual depth than could ever be fully comprehended in this life.
I think it will take an eternity to completely appreciate the depth of love expressed in John 3:16.
Scholars come and go; opinions come and go with them – but the full power of this statement will remain ever elusive.
In the meantime, I encourage you to read it, study it, and embrace it again and again.
You know what it says…you know what it means…or do you?
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By Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
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