It is the world that God so loved, not just a part of it, and not just a certain class of people in it. He is no respecter of persons. His love reaches out to all men in every part of the earth: no one is excluded from God's love.

I once met a young lady who thought she was an exception to this wonderful fact. She was obsessed with the idea that she had sinned away her day of grace, and that there was no hope for her. Her face brightened when I told her I had a text from the Bible that suited her exactly, but when I read John 3:16 to her, she showed great disappointment, and said impatiently, "I've read that many times."

"Listen to it one more time," I said. "Are you in the world? This great love of God is for everyone in the world. You must leave this world for God's love not to reach even to you."

Taking my Bible, she eagerly read over the familiar words, the light of which dispelled the darkness of unbelief in her heart.

—J.T. Mawson