We recognize that the nature of God is love. He is guided by His affections and thoroughly resolved to pursue relationship with us. The relationship He desires is one of love, not of mutual need. The Scriptures indicate that God seeks us because He loves us, not because He needs us. John 3:16 does not say, “For God so needed the world, that He sent His only begotten Son.” Neither does it say, “For the world so needed God, that he sent His only Son.” Instead it says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” God’s motivation for interaction with mankind has always been love, not need. ~ Victoria Brooks
I think we bring some element of need (no matter how small or how much we try not to) to every relationship in which we’re emotionally invested. It’s our nature. The ability to be wholly loving without need is remarkable and lies solely within His realm. It’s His nature. God would only be a god, not the God, if His love was predicated on our need.
John 3:16 is probably the one Bible verse most folks are familiar with, if not from church, from road signs and banners and bumper stickers. While familiarity doesn’t always breed contempt (Aesop), it often breeds dispassion. Victoria’s right. The verse doesn’t say: For God so needed the world and it doesn’t even say: For the world so needed God (although that’s often how I think of it).
The message is simple. For God so loved the world… We seek God because we need Him. It’s our nature. Our love comes along after we’ve addressed our need. But God seeks us because He loves us. It’s His nature. In order to really appreciate and appropriate God’s grace and mercy, I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that I need Him but He doesn’t need me. He just flat-out loves me.
It began as a love story and it will still be a love story after the final page is turned.
