My mother has a compulsive habit that surfaces each Christmas. When she sees a present she has to open it. You may think, “We all do the same each Christmas.” Well, my mother does it before December 25th. Like someone on a diet unwrapping a candy bar in some hidden corner of the house, my mother waits till the house is empty, then she unwraps her presents. She has made it an art form. She cuts the tape with a razor blade, carefully unfolds the paper, and examines the gift. One Christmas, she did not like the gift. So, she returned it for another, rewrapped it by retracing each fold, and carefully covered each piece of cut tape with new tape.

As Mom’s Christmas compulsion grew worse, Dad employed his own means of Christmas gift security. One Christmas, as we took turns unwrapping our gifts, Dad watched Mom with a skeptical stare. When she unwrapped the gift, she found a second layer of Christmas paper beneath it. She said, “Charles, what have you done?” When she unwrapped the second layer, she found a third. Exasperated, she scolded Dad. “Charles, you are wasting good Christmas paper.” When she removed the third layer and came to the gift, Dad startled us all by saying, “Ah, Ha!” What my brother and I did not know was that Dad had wrapped the gift thirteen times. This prompted a quick confession by Mom. “Well, I just got tired of rewrapping it.”

Each December, we celebrate the greatest Christmas gift ever given. The gift has been packaged and presented to us in John 3:16. It states,

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

This verse implies that the greatest gift ever given is the gift of God’s love. What I want to do with you is unwrap the love of God as presented in this verse. What you will find is that there are several layers of wrappings of God’s love. Each one is priceless.

“God So Loved” – Love Shared!

The first four words of John 3:16 say,“For God so loved.” The word “loved” is the Greek word “agape.” The Greeks were descriptive about love. They had a term for love shared between friends and family, a term for romantic love, and this word “agape” that is used throughout the New Testament for the love of God. God wanted it clear that His love was different than all other forms of love. That is why He provides a brief description of His love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Apparently, God’s love is so full of patience, kindness, joy, protection, trust, hope, and perseverance that it does not have room for envy, boasting, pride, rudeness, self-centeredness, quick temper, or grudges. By unwrapping the love of God we learn that God’s love is so full it needed to be shared.

A three-year-old girl was riding alone in the car with her mother. The girl was full of questions, for her world was about to change. In a few months, her mother would have another baby. She asked her mother, “Mommy, why do mommies and daddies have babies?” Relieved that her daughter had asked “Why?” and not “How?” the mother said, “Honey, the love within a mommy and daddy can become so full that they need someone to share it with. That’s why God let us have you. We both get to share our love with you.” The girl smiled and then changed her expression as she looked at her mother’s tummy. Quickly, she asked, “But if mommies and daddies have more than one baby, won’t they run out of love to share?” (Sometimes I think God gives parents special wisdom for unexpected questions.) Her mother smiled and said, “Oh, no, Dear. Each time a new baby comes to a family, it makes the love within the mommies and daddies grow even larger for everyone in the family.”

When I unwrap the first layer of God’s love, I see it the same way. God’s love was so full that it had to be shared. That is why He made Adam and Eve. After making them, His love grew larger for them. Therefore in Genesis 1:28 God told them to fill the earth with more and more just like them. When you read “For God so loved” in John 3:16, it is a reminder to you that God’s love was so full He made you and everyone with you so He could share His love.

“The World” – Love’s Standards

The next two words of John 3:16 reveal the scope and strength of God’s love. It says, “For God so loved the world.” Of course, we understand that to mean “everyone in the world.” Yet, the Greek word for “world” implies more. It is the word “kosmon,” from which we get our word “cosmos.” According to the Greeks, this word referred not only to the people of the world, but to the system and order of the world.

I read that a potato bug hatches in 7 days, a canary in 14 days, a chicken in 21 days, and ducks and geese in 42 days. Everything hatches in multiples of seven days. Furthermore, I learned that every ear of corn has an even number of rows of kernels, and that every striped watermelon has an even number of stripes on the rind. If this kind of order exists in eggs and watermelon, consider the order upon which the world rests. We set our clocks according to the order of the world. No wonder as God created the world, He kept saying, “This is good.”

According to Psalm 8:3-8, God had a ranking system in mind when He created the world.

3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?

5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings (“angels” KJV) and crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:

7 all flocks and herds,
and the beasts of the field,

8 the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.

The ranking system is clear in God’s eyes. God is above all. The heavenly beings are above us, and we are above all other creations of the world. Yet, God had to set standards for His love, so we would not try to take control of Him.

Years ago, Dr. James Dobson received a letter from a dad named Chuck. Chuck had been depressed for 10 months. Ten months happened to be the age of his son, Rolf. Chuck told Dr. Dobson that he loved his Rolf. He was cute, smart, strong, and wonderful. Yet, he was very demanding. He and his wife could not get work done around the house, nor could they get to sleep till midnight because every time they put Rolf down, he cried. The same happened at church when they tried to leave him in the nursery. As a commentary to all parents, Dr. Dobson wrote:

It is difficult to believe that a ten-month-old baby could take over complete charge of two mature adults and mold them to suit his fancy, but that is precisely what Rolf is doing. He fits the pattern of an extremely strong-willed baby who has already learned how to manipulate his parents to achieve his purpose.

Dr. Dobson recommended that Chuck and his wife give Rolf plenty of love and attention. However, he also suggested that they adhere to an unflinching routine, or standards, for Rolf. Soon, Rolf would learn that he could not take control of Mom and Dad.

It is more difficult to think that we would try to take control of God. Yet, just as Rolf tried to shape his parents around his desires, we try to shape God around ours. That is why, from the very beginning, God’s love had standards. Look at Genesis 2:15-17.

15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

Though God gave Adam and Eve His love in the Garden of Eden, they still wanted to take control. Yet, they learned the standards of God’s love. When you disobey God, you face the consequences of separation from God.

God loves the world so much that He will not let us take control. Therefore, when you sin, you must live with the consequences—separation from God.

“He Gave” – Love’s Sacrifice

I am grateful that God’s love goes beyond His standards. When you unwrap the third layer of God’s love you find His love sacrifices. John 3:16 adds, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son.” This Greek expression “he gave” appears only one other time in Scripture. It implies a gift that one would expect, or an act that would seem natural. It was expected, or natural, of God’s love not to “send” His Son, but to “give” Him. If God had sent Him, He could have recalled Him. But, God gave Him as a sacrifice, because God knew what it would cost to restore His relationship with us. Romans 6:23 says,

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The word “wages” was a marketplace term used for trading. One might trade milk for dates, or fabric for grain. God gave us His one and only Son so we could trade.

We were created to know the love of God and have life with God. Yet, in the Garden of Eden we traded it all to follow our own desires. As a result, we traded our life with God for death without God. When God gave us His Son, He established the conditions for a new trade. He was saying, “Let’s trade! My Son will take on your death, if you will take on His life.”

These conditions were clear in God’s mind when Christ was born. That is why one of the Magi gave the gift of myrrh. Myrrh was an ointment used to prepare the dead for their burial. It was an odd gift for a child unless that child was born to die. God loves us so much that He sacrificed His one and only Son for the chance to reclaim a loving relationship with us.

“That Whoever” – Love’s Risk and Pain

When God’s love is so full it must be shared, so wise it must have standards, and so intense it makes sacrifices, then, when God’s love is rejected, it hurts God. When you unwrap the fourth layer of God’s love, you find the risk and pain of God’s love. John 3:16 expresses God’s risk and pain in the word “whoever.” “For God so love the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

There are fifteen separate occurrences in the gospels where Jesus makes it clear that His sacrifice is for “whoever” would believe.¹ It’s as though He emphasizes the opportunity to minimize the risk.

I’m sure it would be God’s desire for this verse to read that “God gave his one and only Son so that everyone would believe in him and not perish but have eternal life.” There is a huge difference between “whoever” and “everyone.” “Everyone” is a sure thing, while “whoever” still has the element of risk. Yet, God’s love was so strong that He took the risk that someone would recognize His love through His sacrifice and believe.

The closest human analogy of this I ever found came from Missouri in 1937. John Griffith controlled a railroad drawbridge that crossed the Mississippi River. At noon, he raised the bridge to allow ships to pass. He brought his eight-year-old son, Greg, to work with him. Enjoying their time together, John lost track of time.

At 1:07 p.m., he heard the whistle of the Memphis Express stemming toward the bridge. John had not lowered it, so he raced to the controls to let down the bridge. Just before throwing the switch, he saw that Greg had left the observation deck and had his left leg caught in the cogs of the two main gears. John thought of a plan to rescue his son, but there wasn’t time. John had one of two choices. He could save his son, or throw the switch killing his son but saving the lives of the 400 passengers on board. In anguish, he threw the switch, killing his son.

However, the pain was not over. In fact, it grew. As the train slowly rumbled by, John could see the passengers through his tears. He saw businessmen casually reading the paper, ladies sipping coffee, and children eating ice cream. No one ever looked his way to acknowledge him or what he had done. With his heart writhing in pain, he looked at the train and cried out, “I sacrificed my son for you people! Don’t you care?”

You might remember how Satan tempted Jesus in Matthew 4:6. He reminded Jesus of God’s promised protection in Psalm 91:11-12. Jesus knew that with a single word angels would come and rescue Him from any harm. That’s why Jesus prayed with such intensity on the eve of His crucifixion — “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39). At that moment, God could have thrown the switch to save His son instead of us. On the cross when Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 26:39), again, God could have thrown the switch to save His son instead of us. But, He didn’t.

Because of His love, God took a risk. He sacrificed His son for “whoever” would see it and in turn surrender their life to Him. Can you imagine God’s pain as, for generations, the train of lives has rumbled past the cross? With heads buried in business, lives absorbed with pleasure, and the masses blinded by routine, most of the passengers of life never acknowledge God’s sacrifice for them. Yet God sacrificed His Son anyway. God’s love for you was so great that He took the risk that you might be among the “whoever.”

“Not, But” – Love’s Rewards

Let’s say you are numbered among the few. You are one of the “whoever” who has surrendered your life to Jesus Christ. That means you still have another layer of God’s love to unwrap. In the last phrase of John 3:16, you finally get to the rewards of God’s love. Look at the whole verse one last time.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The two great rewards of God’s love are accented by the words “not” and “but.” Because of God’s love for you and the sacrifice of His son Jesus for you, if you surrender your life to Jesus Christ, you shall NOT perish, BUT you shall have eternal life. Let’s look at these two great rewards of God’s love.

Shall Not Perish
The first great reward of God’s love is revealed in His promise that if you surrender your life to Jesus Christ, you “shall not perish.” This simple phrase explains what God’s love has saved you from. You’ve been saved from perishing.

Many have their own idea of perishing, but when you read Matthew 7:13-14, you get Jesus’ idea of perishing. Jesus challenges all who will hear Him to,

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

The word “perish” Jesus uses in John 3:16 is a derivative of the word “destruction” that He uses in Matthew 7:13. Thus when you surrender your life to Jesus Christ, this is your reward: you are saved from experiencing the destruction of everything that is good—everything that is of God in and around your life.

There are many still today who see no need to surrender their life to Christ because they see no danger of destruction. They fail to realize that just because they haven’t fully experienced the destruction yet, that doesn’t mean they’re not on the road to it.

We thought my Dad’s back pain was nothing more than a bad gallbladder. Not even the doctors knew Dad was eaten up with cancer till they opened him up and saw everything God already knew. Because Dad had such a high tolerance of pain, he had learned to live with it. He had learned to live with what was killing him.

The Bible says that most people have learned to live with the sin that will ultimately destroy them. They’ve grown accustomed to the condition that will lead them to perishing without God.

However, the great reward of God’s love and sacrifice is this. You can be forgiven of your sin before you die. You can be saved from destruction by surrendering your life to Jesus Christ.

But Have Eternal Life
The phrase “shall not perish” explains what God’s love and sacrifice has saved you from—destruction. The phrase “but shall have eternal life” describes what God’s love has saved you for—it has saved you for life with Him now and forever.

To fully appreciate the quality of life He has saved you for, you need to contrast it with what He has saved you from. The opposite of a destroyed life is a whole life—or in Jesus’ words in John 10:10, a “full life.” Speaking of His followers, Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life and have to the full.”

When Jesus says He has saved you to experience a “full life,” what does that mean? The word for “full” in this verse is a Greek word pointing to a superior quality of life. If you want a picture of the quality of life you have in Jesus, listen to His statement in John 15:11. Charging His followers to “remain in God’s love,” Jesus tells them, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full”. KJV

The Greek word for “full” in John 15:11 is different from the one used in John 10:10. It refers to something being filled to its maximum capacity. It’s the same word used in John 21:8 to describe Peter’s fishing experience. Peter and the other disciples have been fishing all night and have caught nothing. From the shore, Jesus calls out and tells them to throw their nets on the other side of the boat. When they do, scripture says their nets became so “full” of fish, that at first, they couldn’t haul it in. Being fishermen, though, they were not going to let such a catch go. So they mustered the strength to bring the haul to shore and there counted 153 fish. That’s a full net.

Without surrendering your life to Jesus Christ, you are like the masses constantly fishing for joy and coming up with either nothing, or not enough to sustain that joy. But when you surrender your life to Christ the quality of your life changes as you receive a life so full of joy it’s hard to contain. And just as the disciples’ net was full of a variety of fish, your life in Christ will be full of more than joy. It will also be full of peace. Jesus told his followers in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” It will also be full of hope as Hebrews 6:19 describes Jesus as your anchor of hope.

However, the full life Jesus describes in John 10:10 not only refers to a superior quality of life, it also points to a superabundant quantity of life. Not only will your experiences be full with God while on earth, but the quantity of those experiences will continue for eternity as your relationship with God continues forever in heaven. Back in John 3:16, Jesus promises eternal life to his believers.

You are going to need an eternity to fully appreciate the gift you have in God’s love. Even the Apostle Paul understood this and in Ephesians 3:17b-19 he offered the following prayer.

17 … And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Some describe their gift as the gift that keeps on giving. God’s gift of love for you is the gift that keeps on going. The more you grasp the standards, sacrifice, risk, pain and rewards of God’s love, the more you realize you will never reach the width, length, height, or depth of His love. No matter how far you go understanding and experiencing the love God, you will learn that God’s love for you keeps on going, and going, and going.

Don’t Unwrap the Wrong Gift

Having taken time to unwrap the various layers of God’s love for you, my last encouragement to you is, “Don’t waste your time unwrapping the wrong gift.”

Earlier I mentioned my mother’s habit of unwrapping her gifts early. One year my dad decided to counter her compulsion by tricking her. He brought home a huge box, beautifully wrapped, and placed it by the tree. For several days Mom grilled Dad to divulge what was inside. Dad remained tight-lipped because he knew he had merely wrapped a rock inside a big box.

When we opened presents as a family, Mom refused to open the big box. She insisted that Dad do it. Skeptical that Mom was up to something, Dad opened it. True to Mom’s nature, it was apparent she had already unwrapped the big box and found the rock. Instead of putting it back in, however, she replaced the rock with Dad’s Christmas present. As a result, neither Mom nor Dad unwrapped what they expected.

I’m afraid Mom and Dad’s Christmas experience describes the life experiences of many. You may feel that, by unwrapping the ribbons of a new job, a new relationship, a new accomplishment, or a new dream, life will be better for you. And your life may be better for a moment, but it’s not the better you were really hoping for.

If you stop and look at your life, the problem is you’ve been unwrapping the wrong gift. Please understand,

The only gift …
with standards that never change
that will sacrifice for you regardless of risk or pain
and that secures the quality and quantity of your life
… is the love of God.

Therefore, stop reaching for gifts that ultimately leave you disappointed and unfulfilled. Reach for the one gift that will overwhelm you in this life and take you an eternity to fully appreciate. Reach for the love of God in Jesus Christ. Surrender your life to Him.

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[1] Matthew 10:32-33; 10:38-39; 12:50; 16:25-26; Mark 16:16; John 3:16-21; 3:36; 4:13-14; 5:24; 6:37-40; 6:54-56; 7:37-38; 8:12; 10:9-10; 11:25-26