God Loved Me!

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A TEXT of Scripture hung on the wall of our nursery when I was a child, and it was the first one I was taught to repeat, and what do you think it was? It was the precious text that will last all through eternity, and no saved person will ever forget it,
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16).
I received a reward at Sunday school for repeating it, when I was six years old. But although able to repeat it, I did not believe it, or know its saving power.
When I first went from home, my mother gave me a Bible, and marked with her own hand John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16). For her sake, I often read it, but, beyond that, it had no power over me.
A companion, who was a true Christian, asked me one night, what verse was the means of leading me to the Lord Jesus, for she evidently thought I was converted. I felt unable to answer her, so she asked,
“Is it long since you received ‘eternal life?’”
I hung my head, for I was ashamed to tell at all. She drew me to her side, opened my Bible at John 3:16,16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) marked by my mother’s hand, and told me how she had been saved by believing on the Lord Jesus, as He is presented there.
God loved me, God gave His Son for me: I believed, I received everlasting life. It all seemed so simple. I saw it was for me as well as her, for “whosoever” included us both.
O how different John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) was to me then, for it showed me God as loving me, His Son as given to me, and everlasting life as mine. I have it framed in my room. I call it my favorite text; but better than all, it lives in my memory and heart.
“God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:88But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8).
ML 01/10/1937