For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:16-17)
My father was the choir director at the church I grew up in and there was a choral arrangement of John 3:16 & 17 that the choir often sang. It’s a beautiful setting for this most famous of evangelical verses that starts softly and crescendos to it highest point around the lyric “have ever lasting life,” but then it softens back down to where it ends with three “God so loved the world”s – the last one, almost inaudible. It’s an important rendition that leaves you not with everlasting life, but with God’s love – the motivation for what He did.
To end the verse where it started was brilliant, but even then, I didn’t get it. We were too busy thinking about everlasting life – how you got it, who got it and who didn’t – that the part about God’s love was wasted on us. John 3:16 was always thought of as the key to getting into heaven, when all along, it was really a love song. It’s a love song that tells us what God’s love did. God’s love brought Jesus to us. God’s love connected with us. It climbed inside our skin, walked in our shoes, went to our parties, weddings and funerals, slept under our stars, suffered our minor irritations and our big calamities, was misunderstood, misjudged, misinterpreted and mistaken, and ultimately suffered our sufferings and died our death. God’s love did a lot. God’s love gave everything it had that we might have everything it gave.
So now, as a follower and interpreter of God’s love to others, what will you do? What will you give? What will you sacrifice? These are big questions for me today. I hope you will pick them up too and do something.
God so loved the world…
God so loved the world…
God so loved the world.
For a beautiful rendering of this choral work by John Steiner, click on the picture above of London’s Saint Paul’s Cathedral Choir.
John Fischer The Catch 
Thanks for sharing the song by John Steiner. One of my favorite songs and so beautifully done by the Cathedral choir.
We sang this in our choir for many years. One of my favorites, John. Thanks for the memories.
Just thought you might like to know that I read this today at a funeral that I performed. Trusting that it is what God wanted shared. Thanks for sharing it with us. I think of it as a God thing, Right words for right people, at the right time. Bet when you wrote it you never dreams it would be used like this. Well that’s our loving God, full of surprises! Thanks again. – Joe Saubert
Thank you, Joe. Never did. God works in mysterious ways!
” So now, as a follower and interpreter of God’s love to others, what will you do?” Thanks for the challenge John. In connection with this challenge is one that comes from Jesus himself in John “14:12 “I tell you the truth anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father”. These two challenges are the same. This verse I have prayed many times but it also perplexes me. It does not seem we will do greater works as Jesus in His godly side but in His human side. It gives me great confidence to know that we will do greater things than Christ in human form.
I am not entirely sure what this means yet, but I have found that living out what is humanly impossible is possible for God. So I intentionally try to live in the impossible. It is awesome what happens and all because of faith. If we can do greater things than Christ we are certainly behind the eightball.
Again thanks for the challenge to be like Jesus. It is my prayer for all, ” Lord show me/us what this verse truly means, or is it my doubt that stops me from believing?”
Living in the impossible. I like that. Think it can be done? I think you might have a Catch here! Thanks, Peter.
It wasn’t long into your description of the piece that I knew exactly the one you were talking about. Lovely indeed, and it brought back wonderful memories of singing it in choir when I was in high school. Will listen to the cathedral choir later.
Thanks!