Scripture Notes: Light and Darkness (John 3)

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). These are arguably the most famous words in the whole Bible, and rightly so, because they reveal to us God’s great love. The Father did not send the Son to condemn the world, John continues, but to save the world. Then we read, “He who believes in Him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). 

It seems to simple, doesn’t it? God loves us so much that He came to save us, to give us eternal life with Him. What do we have to do? Believe. Have faith. Not just intellectual faith that assents to a proposition but real faith that shines and blossoms out in love and obedience. 

So why don’t we do that? The Gospel explains, “the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). We human beings have chosen sin, have chosen evil, have chosen darkness. The Light that comes into the world shines right into that darkness and illuminates everything there. It is not a pretty picture. In fact, it is horribly ugly. Human beings have made a monstrous mess of themselves. 

Yet we need the Light. We need to recognize our sins so that we can repent, confess, and be embraced by God’s mercy. We need to walk into the Light and let it shine into the deepest parts of us. Will it be uncomfortable? Yes. Will it show us things we would rather not see? Yes. And that is the point. But that Light will also, John concludes, show us something remarkable, namely, that the good things we do are God working in us. The Light also illuminates His grace and His gifts and His love. 

Indeed, God is love through and through, and that is why He has to show us the truth about ourselves. He wants us with Him forever in Heaven. He wants to give us eternal life. But we, as free, rational creatures, need to say yes through our own God-graced faith and love.