John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Instead of just talking about Christianity’s most iconic verse, let’s actually rewrite it.
Be as gushing and generous as you want about God’s nature, his promise, what humans get and how we get it.
In other words, rewrite it to reflect your greatest hope about God.
Sometimes we like to think we’d do it differently if we were God, so here’s your chance.
Be God for a second and improve on what he wrote. Shakespeare or Kundera it up.
Let’s take the start.
First Line: “For God so loved the world.”
Do you want it to say something different? Something better? Okay, let’s try some differences.
“For God had so much compassion on the world.”
“For God was so righteous, he brought justice to the world.”
“For God had pity on the world.”
You can keep thinking of ways to change that line, but can you find any way to tweak it that actually makes it better than “For God so loved the world?”
Can you find any phrase that would make you happier about God and how he feels about the world than “For God so loved the world?”
I can’t.
Of all the things God feels towards the world, I’m happiest that he loves it.
Not that he has compassion on it, or will bring it justice, or makes it beautiful. Those are great.
But nothing sounds better than the news that he loves it.
That’s the most gorgeous attribute in the world, and it’s the first line of Christianity’s most iconic verse.
I can’t think of a better way to begin.
Next line: “That he gave his only begotten son.”
Let’s try some rewrites to make it better.
“That he gave us ten thousand angels.”
“That he gave us comfort in bad times.”
“That he gave us mercy after mercy.”
Those are all great things, but they indicate a helpful and generous God, but not necessarily a God who sacrifices for us.
There’s a huge difference between someone who writes you a check because they’re a big shot and someone who sacrifices something for you.
And God killed his son for you and me.
This second line of the verse proves the intensity of the “For God so loved the world” part.
Jesus isn’t content with letting us just think he merely loves it. He wants — no, insists — that we know he loves it in a “I killed my son for you” kind of way.
Next line: “That whoever believes in him should not perish.”
Now let’s try rewriting this one.
We could try.
“That whoever sacrifices for him should not perish.”
“That whoever does the most for him should not perish.”
“That whoever loves him the most should not perish.”
“That whoever prays a lot to him should not perish.”
Do any of those rewrites make you happier or more relieved than “whoever believes in him should not perish”?
Not to me. I would rather have belief as a precondition than anything else.
Belief is easier than perpetual praying, belief is less time-consuming, exhausting and dangerous than being a missionary.
Belief is such a simple precondition that every other religion and your own mind thinks it’s too easy.
But no, God has made it as easy as possible to have peace with him. You just have to believe in Jesus.
Final part of the verse. “Have everlasting life.”
Here’s where it all comes together.
What does God’s love (first line), his act of sacrifice (second line), and our belief in him (third line) lead to?
We get “everlasting life.”
Again, try to rewrite that into something better.
“Have blessings galore on earth.”
“Have a long life.”
“Have a happy life.”
“Have a pain-free life.”
None of those is as good as “everlasting life.”
What more could Jesus promise?
There’s no better way to end the verse than with the holy grail of human existence — the promise we’ll keep on going, perpetual life.
Sometimes we take this verse for granted, because we hear it so much. But we just don’t realize how perfect it is until we try to rewrite it and make it sound better.
But we can’t possibly make any part of this verse happier, more hopeful, or more glorious. We will always come back to the original.
That’s because God wrote this verse, and a human editor could never improve it by rewrites.
[Screencap, Shakespeare in Love]
Christian Heinze is editor of The Weary Christian.
