Simply Complex

"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."
Can anyone guess what the quote above is?
If you guessed John 3:16, you got it right. I think this verse is very well known. It's probably one of the first verses a person learns or hears about when they learn about God or the Bible. It's simple and easy to memorize, but I wonder how many people truly understand what it all means.
For God (the creator of this entire universe, the one who made man out of dust and simply spoke things into presence, the God who made the sun stand still, intricately designed each and every bird, human, flower, animal, and insect) so loved (not just liked a little or thought a lot about) the world (every single being that has lived, is living, and ever will live) that he gave (not loaned) his one and only Son (not his good friended, his first born pride and joy), that whoever (anyone, not the rich, the strong, the wise, or only a few...EVERYONE) believes (not acknowledges his possible presence or his creation, but actually testifies his existence) in him (the beloved Son) shall not perish (will not be forever in hell...the eternally burning lake of fire) but have eternal life (life that never ends, spend in paradise).
How amazing is that? This verse is so easy to spout off from memory, but when you actually take the time to reflect on it's true meaning, it can almost be mind boggling. I cannot imagine being willing to send my child, my only child, away from me with the ultimate goal of sacrificing their life so that I can make a way for ungrateful, complaining humans to spend eternity with me rather than in hell, if they so choose to believe.
We are so sinful and wrapped up in ourselves that we tend to not even say thank you for blessings that come our way. The process of Jesus being sent by his father to come to this sinful world to die a torturous death in order to make a way for sinful humans to repent and be able to spend eternity in paradise was a simple decision to God. It was his ultimate way of showing us just how much he loved us. We make accepting this act of love into such a complex decision. We weigh our choices and justify our actions so that we begin to think that we don't really need to accept anything or change our ways because we're just fine where we are.
The facts are simple... we are born sinners. Sin leads to death and eternity in hell. God loves us. He has made a way to break from the path that leads to hell. All we must do is choose to trust and follow him.