Our pastor at First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, D.C., Rev. Julie Pennington-Russell, invited me to give the sermon on a Sunday that she would be away. She suggested I preach about our Capital Campaign for Facilities Improvements, which we are calling “Give It Forward.” Since Julie preaches from the Lectionary, I consulted the prescribed Lectionary texts for the Sunday I would preach. I was inspired by two of the Lectionary passages, one from John and the other from 1 John. I decided to base my sermon primarily on the passage from 1 John 3. In fact, during the sermon I said that “the scripture that we heard from 1 John 3 is a ‘Give It Forward’ message.” Then I read again 1 John 3:16: “We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us – and that we ought to lay down our lives for one another.” I commented that most Christians consider John 3:16 (“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…”) as one of the most important verses in the Bible. But now I would add 1 John 3:16 as another most important verse. I said, “We cannot pay Jesus back for what he has done for us. He laid down his life for us. But we can give it forward. We can lay down our lives for one another.”

One of the undergirding principles of Spelunking Scripture is identifying important passages in the Bible. Not every verse in scripture is of equal value. Some verses are more important than others. As I noted, most Christians consider John 3:16 to be one of the most important verses, because it sums up the Christian message: God so loved the world that he gave his Son that whoever believes in him should have eternal life. Now I would add 1 John 3:16 to the list of important verses because it sums up the focus of the Christian life, giving love forward. As I said in the sermon, “We cannot pay Jesus back for what he has done for us. But we can give love forward by doing something for someone else.”

Not surprisingly, when I was a pastor, I preached on John 3:16 many times. However, out of almost 1500 original Sunday morning sermons, I could find only one other time that I preached on 1 John 3:16. So, identifying the most important passages of scripture is always a work in progress. That is one reason why I continue to read and study the Bible. God continues to speak through the words of Holy Scripture. I pray that I might continue to have ears to hear and a mind to understand and a heart to believe.