The Heart of the Gospel
Martin Luther called John 3:16 “the heart of the Bible—the Gospel in miniature.” It’s so simple a child can understand it; yet it condenses the deep and marvelous truths of redemption into these few pungent words:
- “God”…The greatest Lover
- “So loved”…The greatest degree
- “The world”…The greatest number
- “That He gave”…The greatest act
- “His only begotten Son”…The greatest gift
- “That whosoever”…The greatest invitation
- “Believeth”…The greatest simplicity
- “In Him”…The greatest Person
- “Should not perish”…The greatest deliverance
- “But”…The greatest difference
- “Have”…The greatest certainty
- “Everlasting Life”…The greatest possession
As a group of college students toured the slums of a city, one of the girls, seeing a little girl playing in the dirt, asked a guide, “Why doesn’t her mother clean her up?”
“Madam,” he replied, “that girl’s mother probably loves her, but she doesn’t hate dirt. You hate dirt, but you don’t love her enough to go down there and clean her up. Until hate for dirt and love for that child are in the same person, that little girl is likely to remain as she is.”
Makes you think … 🤔