January 8, 2009 the Florida Gator football team played the Oklahoma Sooners for the BCS National Championship. The quarterback for the Florida Gators was Tim Tebow who ran onto the field with a Bible reference written under his eyes. That evening “John 3:16” was the most Googled item in the world. According to more than one source, an estimated 90 million people went to their computer to look up the Bible verse.

I wonder about those 90 million people. Did they know John 3:16 and looked it up as a refresher? Did they not know John 3:16 at all? How many of those 90 million people know the abundant life on earth and eternal life in heaven discussed in that verse?

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

In 1789 Ben Franklin reportedly penned a letter that included the line, “Nothing in this world is certain, except death and taxes.” The reference to taxes is humorous but the reference to death is solid truth.

Death is a part of life. In fact, some say that the moment you are born you begin dying process.  The young foolishly want time to speed up. The old wisely want time to slow down.

While physical death is inevitable, physical death is not the only type of death. The Bible speaks mainly of spiritual death.  Spiritual death is the result of sin because sin has consequences.

When the Bible provides us with the word sin it provides us with an image of “missing the mark.” Imagine an archery target. Imagine an archer with a bow and arrow. The archer pulls the bow tight, aims, and misses. Every time you miss the target God intends for you – it’s sin. Not a big deal, right?  Wrong.

 The consequence of sin is not a timeout.

The consequence of sin is not a slap on the wrist.

The consequence of sin is not being grounded from your smartphone.

No. The consequence of sin is spiritual death.

It is true that we are headed toward physical and spiritual death, but God provided a rescue plan. The rescue plan is detailed in John 3:16~21. The rescue plan is on full display in the Christmas story. The rescue plan is on full display in the manger scene in which God took on flesh and moved into the neighborhood to save you from perishing and lead you to eternal life.

You can’t fend off physical death. But you can submit your life to Jesus Christ and be rescued from spiritual death.