The Need For Love
When my daughter was a little girl, she would ask me, “Daddy, do you love me?” and I would always answer, “Yes, of course.” Then she would ask, “How much?” At first, I would put out my right hand with my index finger and thumb hovering over each other as if I was pinching an invisible peanut. She would respond with a frown. Then I would place both my hands open at shoulder length and say, “How about this much?” to which I would get a small smirk from her. Then I would extend my arms as far as I could and reach for my daughter, then hug her and say, “I love you this much.” I know that for her at that young age, it was reassuring to know that her father loved her so much and that love was not held to any condition that she kept. I love her regardless. But for me, when I’m in my solitude, I often feel an absence of that reassuring love. My parents are no longer on this earth, and I feel deprived of their embrace and their encouraging voice over the phone, physical reminders that I am loved regardless. It is at those moments, I try to remember that God loves me far more than any earthly parent ever can.
Defining Love
Today, the word “love” is a broad stroke of many meanings and often seems diluted in our modern vernacular. Depending on the context, love can be a euphemism for sex, or it can imply a great preference, or refer to an affection toward an object or a person. Its true meaning gets cloudy or watered down when we say, “I love fries from McDonald's,” or “I love this iPhone” in the same breath as “I love my wife” or “I love my children.” Yet, when we talk about God’s love, we can rest assured that the word “love” takes on a higher meaning and our definitions of it pale in comparison. John 3:16 is one of the most famous and widely quoted verses of the Bible:
For 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. [NIV]
When we read this verse, we often focus more on the second part, which connects our belief in God’s one and only Son, Jesus, to the promise of eternal life. But how this verse starts, “For God so loved,” is significant and holds greater meaning. If you were a Bible scholar, a pastor, or in seminary, then you would be familiar with resources like Strong's Greek Lexicon (or tools like Blue Letter Bible) to find out the original Greek meaning to every word in John 3:16. Using these resources, we learn that the original Greek of the word “love” in this verse is agape, which refers to a divine love, an unconditional love. God’s love is far from the love we can express to our fellow man, and he gives his love to us without the need to earn it.
But what if you had no such resources or didn’t even know there was an original Greek? What if you read the Bible like a beginner and not like any Bible nerd? As one matures spiritually, there is an innate desire to study and dig deeper into God’s Word. However, as a beginner, you might not have this desire yet. So, in this verse, how would you differentiate between God’s love and how you see love in the world around you? If you are a beginner or a veteran, the advice is the same: read God’s Word at a pace where you understand every word and every sentence, not being in a rush to skim through quickly. If we simply read at a more focused pace, with this particular verse, we can find the deeper meaning of God’s love from the word “so.”
In this verse, “so” takes on two meanings. The first meaning is “thus” or “in this manner,” which makes the reader focus on the second part of the verse. With this meaning, the verse reads as “For God loved the world in this manner, he gave his one and only Son.” The emphasis here is that God gave his Son because God loved us. Sending Jesus as a sacrifice, in this manner, shows God’s love for the world.
The second part to the word “so” creates another layer of meaning emphasizing the degree of his love. If I were to say, “I love chocolate,” you would understand that chocolate is something that I greatly prefer or have affection toward. However, if I were to say, “I so love chocolate,” then my words express an even higher feeling. It would seem that my affection for chocolate ran deeper to the point I would feel pain or be brokenhearted in its absence. The word “so” also implies active affection, that I would be in a passionate pursuit for chocolate, and I would be willing to give up anything and everything to have chocolate in my hands.
The Love Of God
When John 3:16 starts with “For God so loved the world,” we must recognize that God loves us intensely with a divine and unconditional love. It is a love that felt the absence when we sinned and separated ourselves from him back in the Garden of Eden. It is a love that passionately pursued us through the covenant of the Old Testament and became fulfilled in the New Testament. It is a love that was so deep that God gave even his one and only Son, who extended his arms on a cross to reach out to us in his sacrificial death and resurrection, removing the separation and saying, “I love you this much.” He showed us he was willing to give up anything and everything for us to be with him again. It is a wonderful and powerful love. It is a reassuring love, and God loves us regardless of who we are and what we can do in return. That little word “so” speaks volumes to the degree and extent of God’s immeasurable love. When I remember John 3:16, I am reminded that he still loves me and pursues me even in my failings, in my insecurities, and in my moments of discouragement. His love gives me the strength to take the next step forward. He loves me regardless.