Darkness and Light

John 3-4

Context is so often lost in my normal approach to bible reading... either reading small chunks or large expanses of scripture without necessarily pausing to digest. The oft quoted John 3:16 isn't a stand-alone piece of scripture, but is actually part of Jesus' response to Nicodemus. Nicodemus approached Jesus at night so that his fellow Pharisees would not be aware of his quest. Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again, but then Jesus went on to tell him that God so loved the world. He didn't stop there either. He effectively told Nicodemus that he must believe not just at night, but that he must come out of the dark and into the light... so that others could see too. Reading scripture for what is there... not necessarily what we've always been taught is there... provides all the difference.