For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV)

Most Americans, whether they grew up around church or not, have heard of John 3:16. It tends to be one of the first verses we’re taught as kids in Sunday School or Vacation Bible School. I remember recitations of this verse becoming speed competitions – eight-year old me could rip through this memory verse in about 1.4 seconds. It’s embroidered on throw pillows and printed on t-shirts. We even see it at football games – often a fan will be holding up a “John 3:16” sign in the back of the end zone during a field goal attempt. It’s so ubiquitous we probably take it for granted.

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But today, let’s not breeze over this famous verse. There’s good reason for its fame – this Gospel-encapsulating bumper sticker for Christianity is short and simple, but it’s also layered in profound truths if we take the time to study it.

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Let’s start by ladling in today’s prompt, which is about generosity. It’s a good topic for the holiday season, when generosity is front and center.

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Go back to a Christmas as a kid and think of a great act of generosity – the best gift you ever got. Mine was a Jurassic Park compound with emergency sirens and flashing lights that went off when my toy velociraptors broke out and wrecked my bedroom. It was awesome. And I know it wasn’t cheap – Santa was very generous that year.

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Now that you have a personal act of generosity in mind, try to think of the greatest gifts of all time. Legend has it that King Nebuchadnezzar II gifted his homesick Medio-Persian wife, Queen Amytis, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The opulent tiered gardens were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Very generous.

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The Greeks gifted the city of Troy a magnificent wooden horse…but that didn’t work out so well for the Trojans. Seemingly generous…but not.

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In 1886, France gifted the United States the 305-foot-tall Statue of Liberty, and to this day, no French soldiers have tumbled out to conquer New York. Lady Liberty was a very generous gift.

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But, maybe you know where this is going…In the history of the world, there’s no greater act of generosity than when God gave his one and only Son. No palace or statue or dinosaur-themed toy can begin to compare.

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In John chapter 3, a man named Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin (the Jewish ruling council), came to Jesus at night seeking answers. He actually believed in Jesus and wanted to engage with him under the cover of darkness to avoid his peers. Jesus laid out the entire gospel message for Nicodemus, summing it up in verse 16.

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God loved the world. He gave his only Son. Whoever believes will have eternal life.

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I have three sons. I can’t fathom giving any of them up. I would expend every last molecule in my body to protect them and keep them safe. Honestly, I struggle reading Genesis 22 when Abraham nearly sacrifices his son Isaac. But it’s not as often that I think of what it took for God the Father to give up his Son.

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Perhaps, because we think of God as an all-powerful spirit, we discount the parental pain he felt. Visceral flesh and blood is relatable; it’s on our level. A triune godhead is not. But God knowingly and willingly sent his Son to us. God gave us his Son, and we hung him on a tree. God did all this for us.

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There’s never been any act more generous than that.

Clearly, God is more generous than we deserve. We could never repay that debt. We could never make it up to him. He gave his Son for wretches like us.

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So, what do we do with that knowledge? Well, we’re called to be generous like him. I’m reminded of the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18. A man’s enormous debt was forgiven, yet he turned around and had a peer who owed him money arrested. That wasn’t right.

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We are to forgive generously.

I’m reminded of the widow’s two mites in Luke 21. Rich people gave some money to the church while a poor widow put her last two pennies in the offering. She gave more than them.

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We are to give generously.

And John 15:13 tells us that no man has more love than he who lays his life down for his friends.

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We are to serve generously.

God demonstrated his immeasurable generosity to us in John 3:16. He gave up his one and only Son so that we could live forever with him.

Dear God, I don’t understand the depths of your love. I’m humbled, Father, by your generosity. Please help me be generous to others. Give me strength to forgive those who wrong me, to give to your Kingdom even when it hurts, and to serve my neighbors no matter the cost. Amen.