"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that all who believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16
I find it interesting that after being a believer for over four decades, just how many things remain the same.
It was only a short time after I accepted Christ as my salvation when I was confronted by a friend who was “distressed” by my decision to yield to Christ. This friend had questions to put to me, and it went something like this:
Friend: So, you believe that God is “three-in-one”, what on earth does that mean, what proof do you have?
Me: Yes, I believe that, because I believe in John 3:16.
Friend: Well, what about all that Old Testament stuff? Don’t tell me you actually believe in Moses parting the waters, etc.?
Me: Yes, I believe that, because I believe in John 3:16.
Friend: O.K., you take all that Old Testament stuff at face value, but Revelation? Really? Streets of gold, a mansion, come on you can’t believe that, right?
Me: Yes, I believe that, because I believe in John 3:16.
Obviously the conversation didn’t go exactly this way. There were many, many more questions, much passion, and not a repetitive response from me in such rapid-fire. I hope you get the idea though; the only real response I had to these questions was that I didn’t know the answers, the proof, the ability to persuade my friend. However, I knew what mattered to me and that my relationship with Christ was secure.
All of these years later, I confess that while my knowledge of God’s Word has increased, and my ability to “defend” that knowledge has increased a fair amount as well, truth be told I’m not sure I’d answer those questions any differently now.
The questions I was confronted with all those years ago boiled down to one real question “I don’t want to face the main point, the one that really matters, so can you answer all of these questions that are in the margins?” Now, like then, I have no doubt I couldn’t possibly give satisfactory answers to that question, except to say that God loves my friend so much that He gave His Son, to die on the cross, so that my friend could know eternal life. It may not be intellectually gratifying, and I have little doubt anyone in the same frame of mind as my friend would accept that “defense”. That answer does have the advantage of being exactly what I know to be true.
Having said all that, I find great comfort in knowing that even after many decades the major thing remains the major thing, and the minor things (while important) remain the minor things.
God loves me so much. I am loved more than I can comprehend, by The One who made me, and saved by The One who gave Himself for me. For me, everything else pales in comparison, and in time will sort themselves out.