Diamond Column #3

So here's Diamond Column #3...If you recognize it, it's because I've posted this already earlier this summer. But I guess that's the great thing about writing the few blog posts that I did this summer-- I can pass them on again for my Diamond Column. Maybe I should be more original...but at the same time, I passed them on the first time because I wanted to benefit others. So I might as well again, right? :)

“Shall Not Perish…”

If I asked you to paraphrase John 3:16 what would you say? Maybe something like “That Jesus is God’s gift to us because He loves us so much. If we accept this gift through faith, we receive everlasting life in heaven rather than perishing in hell.” That was always my summary of the verse, but after reading a book this summer, my summary totally widened. I wanted to share some of the main points of that book with you. I cannot take any credit for these words, but hopefully you can still take something away from them like I did.

When we say "should not perish," we automatically think of eternal destruction in hell. Yes, it's true that Jesus proclaimed a message that could deliver mankind from perishing in actual hell. But Jesus' words "should not perish" also mean that He wants to keep us from another kind of perishing--from wasting and throwing our lives away now, here on earth. God created mankind with tremendous capacities and abilities. God intends marvelous things for the redeemed. He desires that we be transformed into the image of His Son and that we make an impact for Him on the lives of others during our brief stay on the earth.

Your life won't be wasted in eternity. But that doesn't stop Satan from trying to get you to waste the life you're living now on earth. He wants you to fail and fall short of your potential in God. Jesus never intended believers to perish in any dimension of the word--in this life or in the one to come. If Jesus said whoever believes in Him should not perish, why then do we see so many Christians perishing in this life by squandering their earthly time and talents?

We must understand that the word believe means much more than a one-time reach to God in a desperate moment. The word believe implies a continual process of reaching out to God in faith and obedience, not only to avoid eternal destruction in hell, but also to avoid wasting our lives on earth by experiencing God's purpose now.

I want to do the extravagant thing for God. Out of love and gratitude I want to do that which is not required. I want Him to reap His full inheritance from my life. How tragic, how grievous, how totally unnecessary to be wasted in this age through carelessness, passivity, and desire for other things.

You and I must be watchful. We must stay spiritually wide awake. We must not lose our focus or become trapped in wrong relationships. The kingdom of God is worthy of our watchfulness. We must not cultivate any desires that would hinder or quench our spiritual lives, lest on that day we suffer loss, and our lives be judged unfruitful and wasted--perished. (–Passion for Jesus by Mike Bickle)