The John 3:16 Guy

We've all seen him. He's a mainstay at big-time sporting events. Somewhere in every crowd is that guy…you know…the guy with the wig on and the sign that reads, "John 3:16." I'm not sure who decided this would be a good idea, but for whatever reason someone determined that instead of personally inviting friends to church, holding up a sign in a large crowd with a Bible reference on it would be more effective. My guess is the person with season tickets directly behind "John 3:16 Guy" is not a big fan of "Stadium Evangelism."

Why dress up in a wig and hold this sign up? Why choose John 3:16?

The psychological make-up that would convince a person to dress up and make a scene at a public sporting event is something on which I'm not qualified to commentate. The rationale behind choosing John 3:16, however, is well-within my field of expertise.

It's a verse God-fearing church folks have quoted all their lives. It may be one of the first verses we commit to memory in Sunday school. It's a beautiful promise of scripture:

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. (John 3:16)

For many believers, understanding this promise has been the first step of faith into a relationship with God. I'm not sure how many people "John 3:16 Guy" has converted through his sign ministry, but I can only imagine that bringing people to faith in Christ is his intention. Undoubtedly, this is the most common way we hear and read this passage.

This week, in our Ashes to Fire readings, we were taken back to the night-time rendezvous of Nicodemus and Jesus. As Jesus explains what it means to be "being born again", or as another translation says "being born from above", he says something to unbelieving Nicodemus about the significance of what God has done to provide eternal life. In the course of this dialogue, Jesus shares with Nicodemus what we know as John 3:16. At the end of this conversation, Nicodemus and Jesus bow for prayer, and Jesus leads him in the sinner's prayer…

…oh wait.

John 3 actually concludes rather anti-climatically. Nicodemus leaves this encounter with Jesus just as lost and unbelieving as he was before. I heard John 3:16 in context this week. It is part of a larger conversation – a conversation Jesus had with a friend. Nicodemus wasn't converted. He didn't "walk the aisle" or "pray through at the altar." He did, however, converse about the love of God that gave his one and only Son for a lost and dying world. Now that's something I'd like to hear more about.

I wonder what the church would look like if we made the truth of John 3:16 a part of our everyday conversation. We don't need more sign-holders…just some folks who are willing to sit with friends and talk about God.