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Does the Christian life look as foolish as someone trying to hammer a nail into concrete? For many, Christianity just seems irrelevant and useless. But the problem is not with Christianity. The problem lies in their misconception. Christianity is something else. In fact, it’s something better.
The most popular Bible verse in the whole world is probably John chapter 3 verse 16. This verse is what a taco is to Mexican food, what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris, what the president is to the U. S. government. It’s iconic and representative. It’s typically the first verse learned when dipping into biblical waters. John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (ESV). Perhaps no verse in the Bible best captures the entire message of Christianity. And the Bible’s a big book—over 30,000 verses in it. But its message centers on Jesus—how he is God-in-the-flesh, how he speaks for God, why he came, and what he offers. In summary, Jesus’s bloody death on a cross and his earth-shaking resurrection made God available. Anyone can come to God through faith in Jesus. John 3:16 states that wonderful message succinctly.
Unfortunately, since this verse is the most popular around the world, it also causes a lot of misunderstanding. So what people end up thinking about Christianity differs from what the Bible actually teaches. The misconceptions come from two parts of this verse specifically. The first when it talks about belief and the second when it refers to eternal life.
Let’s start with the second . . . eternal life. Since the word “perish” in the verse refers to a separation from God after physical death, people assume eternal life also occurs only after physical death. That assumption captures part of the truth but it misses the point. If you’re in an airport grabbing a bite to eat before your flight and your waiter asks, “Where are you headed?” And you say, “Chicago.” And the waiter replies, “O, I love Chicago. What’s waiting for you there?” And you say, “Another plane to London.” The answer “Chicago” was correct but it missed the point of the question. Likewise, when people think John 3:16 is about living in bliss forever after you die, they’re correct, but they’re also missing the point of Jesus’ statement.
By thinking eternal life is only about the after life, church services become boring and meaningless. The Bible seems irrelevant since you already learned all you needed to from it. Why read more? Jesus feels distant and useless. He’s like a rich millionaire grandfather who might could help you if you travel across borders and get to him, but you’re on foreign soil where can’t speak the language and have no phone, friends, or sense of direction. He’s no good to you until you get to him. If heaven’s the only point, then that’s what Christianity becomes. Assuming it is only about life after death distorts church, the Bible, and God, and it cuts you off from enjoying many immediate benefits.
But, actually, eternal life begins right now. Later in John 3, you find this statement, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.” Verse 36. “Has.” “Has eternal life.” Present tense. Immediate. Ongoing. Eternal life is the right-now offer channeling the right now benefits of Jesus. Elsewhere in John, Jesus said, “I came to give you an abundant life.” Yes, the full abundance and full bliss of eternal life will not occur until after we die. But the whole aim and focus of eternal life is a relationship with Jesus. A relationship that produces a new quality of life to be experienced immediately. It gets better after we die because we get closer to Jesus, being with him in heaven, and our relationship with him gets deeper. Eternal life is like a gourmet restaurant. Right now, we receive a foretaste of the food without going into the building. In the next life, you step into the restaurant and enjoy the full course while dining with the chef himself. Now, get this though, heaven, or the restaurant, is not the focus. Jesus is. And we can experience Jesus, and the good things of Jesus, right now through faith.
And that leads me to the other distortion: believe. People misunderstand Christianity because they misunderstand John 3:16 where it says, “whoever believes in the Son.” People assume belief to be a purely mental exercise—like believing the earth is round or calculating 20% of a hundred. But faith doesn’t stop there. Faith moves. Believing the earth is round led Columbus to sail west to wind up in the east. After calculating 20% of a hundred, you will not pay $108 for your clothes just because the cashier forgot to scan the coupon. You will direct him to the coupon before you pay.
Too often, “faith” or “believing” looks more like forgetting and flopping. People think of Christianity as nothing more than praying to Jesus for forgiveness and then moving on in life forgetting that he exists. Others simply don’t realize the resources they have through Jesus. So, when life goes sideways, they end up looking like fish out of water flopping and flailing.
John, 3:16, however, refers to faith that follows. This kind of faith says, “I do,” at the altar and then devotes itself to loving, serving, and enjoying the other person. Faith that follows is the kind of faith that benefits us right now. For example, key benefits mentioned in the gospel of John alone include special peace, special joy, a special sense of Jesus’ presence, special light to navigate the journey of life, and special strength to endure the trials of life. Here’s what I mean, imagine Mike has a wife, two sons, and a daughter. He adores his family. But he’s endured a tough year at work, causing strife at home. On top of that, he has to travel for business two weeks a month. Life is stressful. Late one evening he justed wanted to relax in quiet at the hotel bar and eat dinner. A gorgeous brunette, ten years younger than him, walks up in a lavender dress to have a drink and eat dinner next to him. She says, “hi.” After a few pleasantries, he looks down at his wedding ring. He pulls out his phone and says, “You know, although I’m eating dinner here at the Marriott doing business in Houston, my heart’s really in Phoenix” and he shows her a photo of his wife and three children. What Mike’s wedding ring and family photo did for him is like what Jesus does for us—except he’s not a mere object that does nothing more than remind us of what we have and who we are. Jesus is a person. We have his presence. He gives us his power. All to experience right now through faith that follows.
It is so painful for me when I see and hear people distort Christianity. Typically, it’s done not in malice but in simple ignorance. In this post, I’ve tried to shine some light on what Christianity actually teaches by looking at John 3:16. Eternal life does not start after we die, it starts right now. And belief is not a one time event just as a marriage is not an evening ceremony. People who get John 3:16 wrong do so because they’re influenced by what I call “heaven-aimed” Christianity. It gives the impression that Christianity is only about going to heaven and our benefits don’t truly begin until we arrive there. John 3:16 teaches what I call “heaven-now” Christianity where the focus is on bringing the benefits of heaven into the here and now. These benefits are packaged and transferred to us through a faith relationship with Jesus. That’s how Christianity works. That’s how Christ works. My hope for you is to take that truth very personally, because Christ is a real person, and a relationship with him is not some religious routine or a punch card affair . . . it’s personal.
Thanks for listening. I’m Aaron. See you next time.