John 3:16

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
John 3:16 (NKJV)
This is a verse that us Christians hear often but why, and what does it mean? There are many topics that are talked about in this verse and to understand the full meaning we must look at the verses that follow it.

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
John 3:17-18 (NKJK)

These verses talk about the conversion all Christian go through when they accept Christ as their Lord and Saviour. "From death to life!" Few of us lack the understanding that our salvation is not by works. Our salvation is a gift from God and He gave this gift to us because He loved us, a fallen humanity. In John 3:16 it says that "For God so loved the world..." He loved us even though we were enemies of Christ and were sinners who deserve eternity in hell. And we should do the same to others.

When we go through this conversion from death to life, it changes us more than we can even imagine. Conversion changes our personality and our character - we bear fruit (peace, love, and joy). We now have a purpose in life in Christ and God is in control.

This should also motivate us to go out and preach the Word that we are all sinners - Christ died for our sins - and Christ has ressurrected. All we have to do is believe in this Gospel message and we will see gradual changes in our lives.

Question: What does it mean to "believe"?