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LIFE’S GREATEST GIFT

Everyone loves presents, yet many people reject the greatest gift ever given.  This gift is God’s Son, and the term “only begotten” expresses His uniqueness.  There has never been anyone else like Jesus, who is truly God and truly human.  He is the only One who lived a perfect life and died as a sinless sacrifice in the place of sinful humanity.

When God gave the gift of His Son, mankind had two options.  They could either accept Jesus by faith or reject Him.  This is the most important choice a person will ever make, because the outcome has eternal ramifications.  God will one day judge the people He has created, and that judgment will be on the basis of what they have done with the gift of His Son.  Those who believe in the Savior will not be condemned, because they have received eternal life.  However, John 3:18 says whoever doesn’t believe has already been judged and condemned for unbelief.  

The determining factor between the accepters and the rejecters is the object of their love.  Those who refuse God’s Son love their sin and don’t want to change.  But believers come to Christ because they love the truth and desire righteousness.  

Please open  your bible to the following scripture reading:  John 3: 16-21
“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.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.  This is the verdict:  Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”

Thoughts from John 3:16-21
God’s love reaches out and draws others in.  God sets the pattern for true love, the basis for all love relationships – when you love someone dearly, you are willing to give freely to the point of self-sacrifice.  God paid dearly with the life of his Son, the highest price he could pay.  Jesus accepted our punishment, paid the price for our sins, and then offered us the new life that he had bought for us.  When we share the gospel with others, our love must be like Jesus’- willingly giving up our own comfort and security so that others might join us in receiving God’s love.  In eternal life there is no death, sickness, enemy, evil, or sin.  To “believe” is more than intellectual agreement that Jesus is God.  It means to put our trust and confidence in him that he alone can save us.  It is to put Christ in charge of our present plans and eternal destiny.  Believing is both trusting his words as reliable, and relying on him for our desire to obey God and do what is right.  We keep praying to live in the light  of Jesus rather than darkness.  

Key thought:
God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, he sent his Son that through him the world should be saved.  Jesus was sent to save, not to condemn.  Through the grace of God we receive salvation through faith in Christ.  Believe, trust, share His love. 

Blessings from the Youth Committee

References:  God’s Word NIV and In Touch Ministries