He Did It for You!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (Jn 3:16, NKJV)

This has to be the most popular verse in the Bible as well it should be.  This is the verse that shows each and everyone of us what had to happen so that we could exist as Christians.  It's the verse that shows us how much God loved his creation; it's the verse that shows us how much he was willing to sacrifice his creation (his only son); this is the verse that shows us a glimpse of who our God really is.  And today I want us to continue to see all of these things through this scripture, but I want us to see it just a bit differently.

See today's word is for those who feel disconnected from God.  Not in a way that would suggest you're not Christian but in a way that would suggest there is no intimacy between you and him.  Today's word is for those who hear the Word and desire everything it offers them but can't seem to find the warmth in that they have heard exists.  Today's word is for the man or woman of God to whom God just sometimes seems so distant, far off, and impersonal.  With today's word we personalize God using this scripture that we all know so well.

I know that the Bible says that God loves the whole world and he does, but you are a part of this world and you are a direct beneficiary of the sacrifice that took place that day on Calvary.  Don't you know that if you were the only person on earth, God would still have sent Christ to the cross? Why? Because you are his and he loves you that much.  There is nothing more important to God than you.   He loves you that much.

You are so loved that God wants to spend eternity with you, and to make sure you were afforded that opportunity, he sacrificed his only begotten sin.  You are so loved that God no longer wanted your sin to be able to create a state of constant separation between you and him so he sacrificed his only begotten Son so the dominion sin had over you could be broken.  You are so loved that God wanted you to be able to receive the blessings he had for you so he sacrificed his only begotten Son.  You are so loved, so treasured, so desired by your God that he was willing to forgive you for every sin you have ever committed and to remember them anymore.  To do this he sacrificed his only begotten Son.

Brothers and sisters, if this word applies to you, then let today be the day that you stand up and take hold of your God.  Let today be the day that you personalize you God.  Let today be the day that you realize that while, yes, he is the God of the world, the moment you became his and his alone, he became yours as an individual.  Let today be the day that you understand that, yes, God sent Christ to the cross so that everyone who believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.  But, he also did it for you individually, as his child whom he loves with a love that we may never fully understand this side of heaven.  So today forget all the feelings you have been feeling and encourage yourself with these words: He did it for me!