John 3:16-17 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. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Every meaningful love story begins when someone moves first.
Someone risks rejection.
Someone steps into vulnerability.
Someone chooses pursuit over safety.
That is the heartbeat of the gospel.
Christianity is not humanity’s search for God.
It is God’s relentless pursuit of humanity.
From the opening pages of Scripture, God is the seeker.
Genesis 3 records the fall—and immediately after sin enters the world, God asks a haunting question:
“Where are you?”
Not because God didn’t know.
But because love always initiates restoration.
This is the first whisper of the ultimate love story.
I. OUR CONDITION MADE THE PURSUIT NECESSARY
Romans 5:6–10 “6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died
Romans 5 does not soften the diagnosis.
We were:
• Weak
• Ungodly
• Sinners
• Enemies
That’s not poetic language.
That’s spiritual reality.
Lost doesn’t mean “a little off.”
Lost means unable to rescue yourself.
Luke 15 reminds us that lost sheep don’t find their way home—they are found.
Illustration: Ocean Rip Current
I believe for most of us that live on island knows this truth:
The stronger you fight a rip current, the faster you exhaust yourself.
Salvation works the same way.
The more we struggle to self-save, the deeper we sink.
Jesus came because we could not swim our way back to God.
II. THE PURSUIT WAS COSTLY, INTENTIONAL, AND PERSONAL
John 3:16 is one of the most familiar verses in all of Scripture—and that’s exactly why it’s so dangerous.
We quote it.
We memorize it.
But we often miss the weight of it.
“God so loved” is not sentimental language.
It’s not God saying, “I felt strongly about you.”
It is sacrificial resolve.
That word so points not to emotion, but to extent—to the length God was willing to go.
Love didn’t stay at a distance.
Love moved toward us.
Love paid a price.
Philippians 2:5–8 pulls back the curtain and shows us just how costly that pursuit really was:
“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross.”
This passage shows us a deliberate downward movement—not an accident, not a loss of control, but a chosen descent.
• He stepped out of glory — “being in very nature God”
Jesus didn’t stop being God, but He refused to cling to His rights.
He laid aside privilege without laying aside power.
• He took on flesh — “being made in human likeness”
The Creator entered creation.
Eternity stepped into time.
The infinite wrapped Himself in frailty.
• He embraced humiliation — “made himself nothing… humbled himself”
Not just humility, but humiliation.
Mocked. Rejected. Stripped of dignity.
• He walked toward suffering — “obedient to death—even death on a cross”
Not a peaceful death.
Not an honorable death.
The most shameful, violent death Rome could design.
This was not love that reacted when things went wrong.
This was love that decided long before anything went right.
Jesus didn’t stumble into the cross.
He set His face toward it.
The manger always pointed to Calvary.
The incarnation always had crucifixion in view.
Illustration: Military Mission
In the military, rescue missions are never impulsive.
They are planned with intelligence, timelines, and full awareness of the risk involved.
Commanders know going in that not everyone may come home—but the mission moves forward anyway.
Why?
Because the value of the people being rescued outweighs the cost of the mission.
Jesus knew the terrain.
He knew the resistance.
He knew the suffering.
He knew the cross.
And He came anyway.
That’s not accidental love.
That’s intentional pursuit.
That’s costly grace.
That’s personal rescue.
He didn’t come because it was easy.
He came because you were worth coming for.
III. THE CROSS REVEALS BOTH OUR SIN AND GOD’S LOVE
The cross is not one-dimensional.
It refuses to let us oversimplify the gospel.
The cross holds two truths in holy tension—and if we release either one, we lose the power of the message.
It reveals how broken we are…
and how relentless God is.
On the cross, we see the seriousness of sin.
If sin could be healed with advice, Jesus wouldn’t have needed to die.
If humanity could fix itself, the cross would have been unnecessary.
The brutality of the cross exposes the depth of the disease.
But at the same time, the cross reveals the depth of God’s love.
Romans 5:8 says it plainly:
“God demonstrates His love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Not when we cleaned ourselves up.
Not when we promised to do better.
Not when we proved our sincerity.
Love didn’t wait for improvement.
Love initiated.
The cross tells us something uncomfortable:
Our sin is far worse than we like to admit.
But it also tells us something unbelievably hopeful:
God’s grace is far greater than we ever imagined.
At the cross, God does not minimize sin—He absorbs it.
He doesn’t deny our guilt—He pays for it.
Justice and mercy don’t compete there; they meet.
The cross declares:
• Sin is real
• Judgment is serious
• But love is stronger
This is why the cross humbles us.
We can’t boast in our goodness when salvation required a Savior.
And this is why the cross heals us.
We don’t have to drown in shame when the price has already been paid.
Illustration: Medical Diagnosis
A good doctor never lies about a diagnosis.
They don’t soften the truth to protect your feelings—because healing depends on honesty.
“You’re sick” is not condemnation.
It’s clarity.
In the same way, the cross tells us the truth about sin.
It names it.
It exposes it.
It shows us how serious it really is.
But the cross also tells us the truth about grace.
The diagnosis is severe—
but the treatment has already been administered.
The cross doesn’t just say, “Something is wrong with you.”
It says, “Something has been done for you.”
And when we see the cross clearly, two things happen at the same time:
Pride dies—because we realize we needed saving.
And shame dies—because we realize we are deeply loved.
The cross doesn’t crush us under guilt.
It lifts us into grace.
IV. JESUS PURSUED US TO RESTORE RELATIONSHIP, NOT TO SHAME US
Look back at John 3:17,
John 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
John 3:17 dismantles shame-based faith.
Jesus did not come to condemn the world.
He came to rescue it.
Condemnation pushes people away from God.
Conviction draws people toward Him.
Illustration: Father and Child
When a child falls and gets hurt, a good dad doesn’t lecture first.
He lifts first.
Jesus came to lift us out of the wreckage of sin.
Closing:
This love story begins with pursuit.
You were chased—not tolerated.
Rescued—not replaced.
Loved—not negotiated.
The cross stands as heaven’s declaration:
“I will come for you.”
CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK:
1. Where am I still trying to save myself instead of surrendering to the love that already came for me?
(What habits, fears, or control issues am I clinging to instead of trusting Christ’s finished work?)
2. How has shame shaped the way I relate to God—and what would change if I truly believed Jesus came to restore me, not condemn me?
(Where do I run when I fail: toward God or away from Him?)
3. Who in my life needs to experience God’s pursuing love through me this week—and what intentional step will I take to move first?
(Love doesn’t wait to be invited. Who am I being called to pursue with grace, forgiveness, or truth?)
