"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. (John 3:16)
Here
we have the revelation of the indescribable love of God the Father expressed in
the very first Christmas gift, presented to a virgin named Mary and to anyone
who would believe in Him. The promise to those who believe in the Son of God is that they
shall not perish but have eternal life. Back in the first chapter of John’s gospel the promise to those
who believe is, “to all who received him, to those who believed in
his name, he gave the right to become children of God…” Here we have the
addition of the idea of receiving along with believing, and the promised
blessing is, to become children of God, “ children born not of natural
descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.” (John 1:12,13)
We
receive the love of God when we believe, trust, put our faith in, the Son of
God. That is when the miracle of the new birth takes place. We are born spiritually with the very same
DNA as Jesus. We are conformed to the likeness of God’s Son, and the image of
God is restored in us. We have become well-loved children of God, in
relationship with the God of the universe, and that relationship is the bond between
Father and child.
We
have eternal life because the image of God in us has been restored, and we have
access to the Father in prayer because we are his dearly beloved children and
He delights in giving us what we need. Jesus said, "Which of you, if his
son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give
him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to
your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to
those who ask him! (Matt 7:9-11). It is by the prayer of faith, our spirit in union with the Spirit of the Son of God, that we demolish strongholds, move mountains, and receive
that peace that passes all understanding.
