Not too long ago, my Aunt pointed out a small, easily overlooked word that completely shifted my understanding of one of the most well-known verses in the Bible. It was as though I was just beginning to grasp the true magnitude of God’s love.
So…
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
How many times have we read and quoted that verse and overlooked the word “so” and its significance?
The word “so” in this verse is meant to convey the extent or magnitude of God’s love. It shows us the vastness of God’s love — a love so great that He gave His only Son. “So” conveys a powerful image of God’s love in action — it’s not just that He loved, but that He loved to such an extraordinary measure.
When we grasp that God so loved the world, it shifts how we live. This love reaches into our deepest struggles and lifts us into grace and salvation.
Guilt and shame are byproducts of a broken world — the same world that tells us our mistakes define us, that status determines value, or that shame and guilt can keep us from our purpose and from thriving.
Yes, the magnitude of God’s love is incomprehensible. Hard to describe. It reaches deep within our deepest parts. Our deepest hurts. Our deepest shame/guilt. God so loved you and me in our most hidden pain — the part we don’t want anyone to see. He so loves us even when we feel unlovable.
Which brings me to why God is making this sacrifice in John 3:17, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” Here, the word “condemned” means being found guilty and facing the consequences of sin.
And this love is not just a sentiment — it’s a love with a purpose: to rescue and restore us. As John 3:17 reveals, God didn’t send His Son to condemn, but to save. This love is so immense, it comes to rescue us from the guilt and shame that try to hold us captive. Jesus’ mission wasn’t to declare guilt and bring punishment, but to offer salvation and deliverance from that judgment.
Ultimately, God loves you and me SO much that He sent His Son to save us from the brokenness that would otherwise separate us from Him. His love pulls us out of our deepest hurts and into a place of restoration. His love is that vast, that personal, and that life-changing.
So today, remember this: God’s love reaches into your deepest hurt and shame. Let it pull you into His grace and restoration, where true healing begins.
Here is a song about the love of God. Enjoy
1 thought on “I Choose Today to Embrace the Magnitude of God’s Love”
The love of God is one of the most sustaining truths in the Bible. It is God’s love that breaks through hard hearts, through broken hearts, through fearful hearts….God’s love. His love brought Him from the throne in heaven to demonstrate it by hanging on a cross for my sin. I am so thankful that the God of the Universe knows me, He loves me, He wants to have a relationship with me. He is a GOOD Father! He just wants me to love Him back…and I do!