For those of you whoare either college football nuts or Gator fans (which by the way are the same thing I think), you by now know Tim Tebow of the Florida Gators. The Gators won the championship 24-14 thanks to Tim's leadership as quarterback of the Gators.
"John 3:16" has appeared in various forms at nationally televised sporting over the years, but after University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow inscribed it on his eye black for Thursday night's BCS National Championship game, the biblical reference became the most popular search item on Google.com.
Tim showed a lot of courage to share his faith in such a bold way. But that is because Tim knows a secret. He knows what God is going to care about when he sees Him face to face.
I got this email today that saw this from the perspective of what God won't ask on the "last" day. Actually, if we are before Him, it is the "first" day of our eternity in His presence. But the point is still well taken. And by the way, He already knows the answers to the questions and loves us anyway, that is grace, which is what John 3:16 is all about.
- God won't ask what kind of a car you drove. He'll ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation.
- He won't ask the square footage of your house, He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.
- God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet. He'll ask how many you helped to clothe.
- God won't ask what your highest salary was. He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.
- He won't ask what your job title was. He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability and as a servant leader versus a "boss".
- God won't ask how many friends (real or virtual) you had or how many people followed you on Twitter or Facebook. He'll ask how many people to whom you were a real friend.
- He won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, he'll ask how you treated your neighbor.
- God won't ask about the color of your skin or that of the people you hung around with or followed. He'll ask about the content of your character on the inside.
- God won't ask why it took you so long to realize you needed Him in your life. He'll just lovingly take you to your mansion in heaven and not show you the gates of Hell.
- He won't ask the content of the things you forwarded to others, including this post. He knows your heart and loves you just the same.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. That is what John 3:16 says. It is all about believing, not about doing. Now, there is a whole lot of the Bible that tells you how God expects you to behave once you know His truth. But He says that the truth shall set you FREE, not put you into some awful bondage where you don't have any fun.
The Message Bible says it this way:
16-18"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
I love that. Get to know the kind of God that loves the world that much. One that makes a very talented college student boldly tell the nation about his God.
And if you haven't read the Bible in awhile (or ever), go to Walmart or Target and buy a Message Bible. You don't need all the "whosoevers" and "believeths". Just listen to His word, His love letter just for you.
Chicke Fitzgerald
