The Danger of Seeking Jesusਨਮੂਨਾ

Can I have the passwords for all your online activities—your text messages, emails, social media accounts, and bank accounts?

Most of us would immediately reject this idea! Why? We all have things we'd like to keep hidden—a message history, a browser history, or things we've said and done that we're not proud of. There are parts of our lives we prefer to keep in the shadows.

This reality—that we all have darkness we try to hide—is precisely why these words are so revolutionary:

"For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

We've now reached one of the most beloved passages in Scripture. I grew up reading a translation that said, "For God so loved the world," which made me think it described the magnitude of God's Love—like saying, "Scott so loves Chick-fil-A sauce that he tries to get the biggest container possible!"

But the translation "For God loved the world in this way" clearly captures this idea. This verse isn't just describing how much God loves; it's telling us how God demonstrated His Love. How do you know God loves you? This is how He showed us—by sending Jesus.

And what happens when we believe in Jesus—in His Humanity and Divinity as One, His Perfect Life, and His Death on the Cross to pay the penalty for our sins? We receive Eternal Life—not Life that begins when we die, but Life that starts now.

Keep reading to discover a crucial Truth: "God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." The verse after the most famous verse in the Bible reveals something profound about our condition and God's response to it.

Before Jesus came, we were already condemned. John 3 tells us we "loved darkness rather than the light because our deeds were evil." We naturally hide in the darkness.

You might object, "That's not true of me!" Really? Then, can I have all those passwords I asked about and share them publicly?

We prefer to hide certain things because we know they're wrong. That's why Jesus had to come. Our condition was already one of condemnation. But here's the Incredible News: in Jesus, we have a Living Hope for Salvation.

Jesus knows everything in your browser history, whether you've erased it or not. He knows everything you've struggled with, whether you're honest about it or not. He knows everything you've ever thought, said, sent, posted, deleted, or shared.

And yet, in Him, we have Hope. We no longer need to be ashamed if we've put our faith in Jesus because we've been born again. He's brought us from darkness to Light, from death to Life, from a heart of stone to a Heart of Flesh.

Jesus didn't come to condemn us—we were already condemned. He came to save us and set us Free.

But without Jesus, we remain in that state of condemnation. We don't live in a world where God grades on a "goodness curve." Jesus came precisely because our sin was severe, our brokenness extreme, and our situation desperate.

When Nicodemus knocked on Jesus's door that night, he thought he was coming to discuss some fascinating new teachings. He didn't realize that Jesus would challenge everything he thought he knew and turn his world upside down.

Here's where things get interesting, though. Nicodemus came to Jesus seeking the gift of knowledge. But Jesus wanted to give Nicodemus something much greater than that—He offered a Path to Transformation.

This raises a profound question for all of us: Are we seeking Jesus for His Gifts or Him? Tomorrow, we'll explore how God's Gifts can subtly become our gods—and how to ensure we're seeking the Giver, not just His Gifts.