[Editor's note: This is one of the devotions that has been translated into Khmer for the girls of Rapha House.]
When the Bible says that God so loved the world, it is easy to feel lost in the crowd. The world is a big place. It’s filled with lots of important and powerful people. Many of them are doing great things for God and show remarkable devotion. It’s easy to imagine that God takes note of their lives. But sometimes it’s hard to believe that He notices or cares for you.
There’s nothing special about you, except maybe all the problems you’ve had and might still be having.
The truth is that in the entire history of the world there has never been a person whom God loves more than you. He loves you not because you’re so lovable but because He’s so loving. The Bible says that God is love (1 John 4:8). And nothing you have done or could do changes that fact. God can’t help Himself. He loves you!
You are the reason Jesus left the courts of heaven. You are the reason He came to earth. You are the reason He went to the cross. You are the reason He rose from the dead. And you are the reason He is returning to earth. He went to heaven to prepare a place for you. And now He is coming back to take you where He is so you can be with Him forever.
When the Bible says that God so loved the world, we tend to make it impersonal and abstract. We tend to get lost in the crowd. Deep in our hearts, we doubt it. We wonder if God could love anyone like us that much. So we quote John 3:16 failing to see ourselves right at the center of this verse. But you are the prized object of God’s extravagant love. You always have been.
John 3:16 not only says something remarkable about God, but it says something remarkable about you. And it’s time to do more than just memorize this verse. It’s time to realize that you’re not lost in the crowd.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. —John 3:16
