3:17
Before I became a Christian, I had heard what is probably one of the most famous passages of scripture, John 3:16.
16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
I think that we have all heard that passage a million times, it is a go to passage for explaining who we are as Christians and is one of the core beliefs of Christianity.
As a non-Christian though, John 3:16 sounded nice, but it didn't really have a lot of meaning to me. In my mind, churches were full of people that had it together, who were goody-goody, near-perfect people who would look down on someone like myself because I was a punk kid, (yes, literally an 80s era punk that thought shorts and combat boots was an acceptable fashion statement) I was a person who did not have it 'together' in any form or fashion. I was someone who did a lot of bad things and even more things that I wasn't proud of because they hurt other people. I thought that if the people in church found out who I was and that I was such a 'bad person' in the past that they would run me out of the building on a rail. To me, all of those people behind the friendly smiles and welcoming messages were just waiting for an excuse to not smile and be like the rest of the world and judge me from the outside. That is how the world works, once someone finds out that you have a few skeletons in the closet, they then have something to hold against you. I didn't think that these Christians would be any different.
As I started to learn more about Christianity, and actually picked up and read a bible. The passage that followed John 3:16 really stuck out...
17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
Wait a minute here! You mean to tell me that Christ isn't here to bash me down for being a bad person? Christ wasn't sent here to tell me that I am the lowest of the low? You mean to tell me that I did not need to get my act together before I went to Him for salvation?
As someone who was raised as a Non-Christian, that was huge for me. Christ was here to save me and not condemn or judge me? Really? How could someone who was supposed to be so 'perfect' actually like a scummy person like I was. It sounded too good to be true. Little did I know what path I was starting on.
Fast forward a few years...
I am the one that is now on the flip side of the coin. I am the Christian who is spending my time trying to lead those who do not know Christ to knowing Him and having a close, personal relationship with Him.
And that verse keeps coming back to mind when I talk to someone and they feel that they will start the relationship with Christ when they 'get things together' or 'When I get cleaned up.' or 'I'm glad that Christ works for you, but it isn't for me.'
It doesn't say that Christ came to save the 'cleaned up' people or those who 'had it all together'. Christ came to save you now. He wants that close, personal relationship to start yesterday. Christ isn't there to judge you and look down his nose and think 'Gosh, once Kelly cleans up his act, I sure hope that he gives me a call.'.
Christ is here to start showing you how to Live Life and not just live life. Through Christ we get to live a life that we were created to live. A life that may not be perfect, but a life that is truly Lived to achieve what we were put here for. Sure, there are going to be stumbling blocks and sure, once in a while we are going to fall flat on our faces. He will not condemn us though, He will help us brush the dirt off our knees and pick the gravel out of our foreheads and point us back to that path of Living Life.
