God Is Calling You Jn 3:16

Do you believe that God cares about you? There are many people who simply don't have a sense that God loves them or speaks to them. Even those that believe the Bible is God's word often find it difficult to personalize the message of the Bible. This may be due to the fact that the stories in the Bible are set in a time and culture far removed from our own. Because of this it is common for people to have a sense that the scriptures are not speaking to them. Some people look instead for some direct supernatural contact with God that will give them a sense that God accepts them. This is unfortunate, because it is through the message of the Bible that God attempts to establish and maintain a relationship with us. For this reason it is essential that we understand that the message of salvation found in the Bible is a personal communication between God and each individual who hears it. Consider the following:

"For God so loved the world,..."

The personal nature of this statement may not be readily apparent to you, but in fact God is saying through these words that He loves you. You personally are part of the "world" that is referred to in this verse, and so it may just as easily read, "For God so loved you..." God considers us His children, and just as we love each of our children no matter how many they be, so God loves every last one of us. Does God want you to be saved? 1Ti 2:3-4 says that God "desires all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth". Does God want you to be lost? 2Pe 3:9 says that the Lord is "not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." Would it help if God had added the words, "This means you."?

"...that He gave His only begotten Son,..."

Here again it is difficult to personalize such an overwhelming truth. Surely God did not give His Son for me? I can see how God could sacrifice His son for a lot of people, especially the better sort of people, but surely He would not have done it for me. Yet it is clear from the scriptures that this does indeed include all of us, Ro 8:32. And we can not limit the gift to "good" or "special" people. Read Ro 5:6-8. If you are helpless, if you are ungodly, or if you are a sinner, Christ died for you. Some teach that the offering of Christ's death is limited to Christians, but this is not so, 1Jo 2:2. Christians may be the only ones who lay claim to the benefits of Christ's death, but the death is offered for the whole world, including you.

"...that whoever believes in Him should not perish..."

The word "whoever" is a powerful word. It knows no bias or prejudice. When speaking of a danger it becomes a warning to all without exception. When speaking of a benefit it becomes an offer, a call to all and anyone who will listen. Do you think that God has not yet called you? Do you think that He must speak to you in some super-natural voice that comes booming out of the sky? Well, think again. When you hear these words "whoever believes in my Son will not perish", consider yourself called.

Paul says of the Thessalonians that they were called through the gospel, 2 Thessalonians 2:15. Jesus sent His disciples into the world to preach to every creature the message of the gospel, Mark 16:15-16. If you are a creature and you have had the gospel preached to you, then you are called. When you hear the words of Christ, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest", you are called by God. Do you think your nationality or ethnic background excludes you? Read Romans 10:11-13. Do you think your lack of wealth, sophistication, or education excludes you from God's call? Read 1Co 1:26. Do you think that God cares whether you can afford to dress well? Read James 2:5.

Finally read the parable of the dinner feast in Lk 14:16-23. God calls to all the world, "Come into My house and share my feast". Those who respond to that invitation become the called of God. If you have not responded to the gospel before, then in this very lesson God calls you once again. God loves you. God gave His Son for you. If you will believe in Jesus Christ and respond to His call, you will not perish but have eternal life.