Reconsidering John 3:16

One of the themes during the season of Lent is the emphasis upon the Father giving the Son so that humanity might have life. We find this focus supremely in John 3:16.

You have seen it on signs at NFL games. On T-shirts. Even on quarterback Tim Tebow's eyeblack. John 3:16. The most famous verse in the Bible, one that many people call "the gospel in a nutshell." In a nighttime meeting with a Pharisee named Nicodemus, Jesus says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." Author Max Lucado calls this verse "an alphabet of grace, a table of contents to the Christian hope, each word a safe-deposit box of jewels."

Precious stuff, no doubt about it.

So why are we putting such treasures on the bottom of bright yellow shopping bags?

At the low-cost, "fast-fashion" clothing store called Forever 21, teenage girls fill yellow bags with the latest fashions. Discreetly printed on the bottom of those bags is John 3:16. No Scripture verse, just the reference. According to Forever 21, the inscription is "a demonstration of the owners' faith." David Rupert is intrigued by these bags. On a website called The High Calling, he admits that most teenage girls will never notice the verse as they fill the bags with skimpy clothes. He wonders if the Scripture reference really makes a difference to anyone. He likes the fact that customers have to discover it, however -- it is not in anyone's face.

Forever 21 is not alone. A number of companies with Christian-based values are trying to attach the gospel message to their products. The California hamburger chain called In-N-Out prints John 3:16 on its drink cups. Its burger bags say Nahum 1:7, and its fry bags contain the reference Revelation 3:20. At In-N-Out Burger, a single meal can take you on a quick tour through the Bible. Bite your burger, and the Old Testament prophet Nahum tells you, "The LORD is good, a stronghold in a day of trouble; he protects those who take refuge in him" (1:7). Eat a fry, and Jesus speaks through the last book of the New Testament, "Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me" (Revelation 3:20). Let us be clear: Jesus wants to eat with us, but there is absolutely no indication, in the book of Revelation, that the meal includes french fries. Finally, you sip your drink, and Jesus announces the gospel in a nutshell, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son" (John 3:16).

Powerful verses, every one of them. Nothing inappropriate or offensive about them. I have respect for the companies who do such creative witnessing. Of course, one might ask: "Do they work?" Further, what do we mean by work? Do they help people become followers of Jesus Christ to transform the world, which is the mission of the United Methodist Church and the mission of Cross~Wind? Perhaps, most would answer: "We leave the results with God." In any case, we would like to think that these citations cause people to open their Bibles and read the verses. Alternatively, is their impact completely fleeting? A moment of recognition, followed by business-as-usual? In most cases, these verses are going to catch a customer's eye for just a second before being crumpled up and thrown in the trash.

Are they really nothing more than IN-N-OUT Scripture?

Something more is needed

Reading a Bible verse is not going to do it.

The New York Times, known for its bulky issues and involved analysis, has included a two-page summary of the articles contained in the paper. Management explained that they made this change to address two complaints they were hearing. One was from readers who said they did not have enough time to read the fuller articles. The other was from readers who said that because there was so much in each issue, they often overlooked the articles about which they really cared.

            One observer, however, says the change is also evidence of a larger trend in our world, one that may not be for the good. Writing in The Atlantic, Nicholas Carr, who watches technology, business and culture, said that what drove the new feature was how the Internet is rewiring not only our reading habits, but also the circuits in our brain that have to do with cognition. For him, the Internet not only supplies stuff to think about but also shapes the very process of thought. Carr notes that a recent study by scholars from University College London shows that as people view material online, they usually skim rather than read deeply. They hop from one source to another and rarely return to any one they have already visited. Generally, they read no more than one or two pages of an article or book before they leap to another site. Users of the Internet “power browse” from place to place. They avoid what we traditionally describe as reading. Carr quotes Maryanne Wolf, a developmental psychologist at Tufts University, who worries that the kind of reading the Internet promotes, which aims at “efficiency” and “immediacy,” may be withering away our capacity for the kind of deep reading books call for. When we read online, Wolf says, we tend to become “mere decoders of information” who do not engage our ability to make “the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply.” He notices that even has difficulty reading a regular book because of what he perceives as this influence of the Internet.

            His central conclusion is that sustained, undistracted reading of a book opens up quiet spaces of contemplation in our lives. We make our associations, draw our own inferences and analogies, and receive our own insights. As Maryanne Wolf noted, deep reading is indistinguishable from deep thinking.

            Well, there is more to the article. However, to summarize (!): The New York Times has taken to summarizing articles possibly because 1) they are afraid people just do not want to read so much anymore, and 2) it is possible that the Internet is responsible for the decline in deep reading.

            Quite honestly, I am skeptical that a piece of technology can do as much as Mr. Carr suggests. However, he did make me wonder about our reading of the Bible. We need to learn to read the Bible in a way that leads to openness and willingness for the Bible to surprise us. I want to focus our attention upon John 3:16. Yet, when something is as familiar and known as is this passage, we may experience the temptation to tell ourselves that we already know it, and move on. We may forget that a passage is worthy of some deep reading, quiet space, and contemplation. In some ways, John 3:16 is like the Mona Lisa of the Christian message. [Hold up the Bible.] We cannot memorize this entire book. [Open to the Gospel of John.] Few of us could memorize this entire Gospel. However, we can memorize this verse. In fact, I hope you will memorize it, and then, engage in some deep reading and thinking. That will require us to pause and reflect upon the beauty of its message.

 

            I would urge you to take about six minutes to ponder the music video by the River Dance Company. It may well help some of us to ponder and reflect.