The Power of "One"

I was driving home a few days ago and listening to the radio. Ever since the last political election cycle, I have to admit that I listen to more talk on the radio than music. As hard as I've tried to kick the habit, I keep getting sucked into the chatter about political hot issues such as abortion, immigration, gun rights, and the like. I'll spare you my thoughts on any of these issues and instead focus on something I gained from talk radio that had absolutely nothing to do with the issues typically discussed on this medium.

This particular day, the host was interviewing the leader of an activist group of Christian women in support of some specific measure or reform. I can't remember what was said or which cause this group championed. What I do remember is the mission statement of this organization. Quoting from "John 3:16", the woman on the radio recited, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters." 

It was immediately apparent to me that this Christian used a different translation of the Bible than the King James version that I regularly use. Personally, I feel that there is a real beauty and reverence in the language of that translation that enables me to feel the Spirit and understand the doctrines with clarity. I am incredibly grateful for William Tyndale and the other inspired reformers whose voices culminated in this beautiful translation of that wondrous book.

At the same time, I can understand how one might welcome a translation of the Bible written in a more modern and more familiar language that might appear more inviting and less intimidating. Without a doubt, the language of religion, specifically Christianity, is one that must be learned by immersion--by reading, by listening, and by speaking. As opposed to immersion in some other language, one need not obtain a passport and embark for distant shores. One need only find a local church house, or even a set of scriptures, and immerse himself or herself in those environs regularly. Too often, those fluent in this language may scare away those who would care to learn by using an advanced vocabulary rife with deep and complex doctrines. So I understand the need that some feel to read the Bible in a simple and familiar language in which fluency is more easily achieved.

But this particular New International version translation of this verse from John truly bothered me. As one of the core tenets of my faith, I believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly.  And this version of one of my favorite passages of scripture sure seemed to me to have more than just a few errors in translation.

I repeat the words I heard, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters."

Now contrast that to the version from Tyndale and King James, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

As I read these two translations, I find two issues in their wording that particularly bother me. Issue number one. Both translations deal with understanding the bounteous and immeasurable love that was shown through the single greatest act to transpire during the long history of this Earth. One version, however, focuses on the love that was shown by He who was sacrificed for me. Now I cannot begin to understand how deep, how pure, and how complete my elder brother's love for me extends. And I will always look up to my brother as the person that I want to be someday. The other version, however, speaks of the love of a Father, not a brother. God, my Heavenly Father, loved me so much that He allowed His favorite son, the Brother I want to emulate, to lay down His life for me--the wayward, rebellious, and prodigal son.

Issue number two. Both verses teach what we must do as a result of the love that is and has been shown unto us. The first version states that we ought to lay down our lives for each other--at least we ought to be willing to lay down our lives as did Christ, the Good Shepherd and the great teacher who taught that greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. King James however, says that our obligation resulting from the Atonement of our Lord is much more simple and has nothing to do with sacrificing ourselves for another. One need only believe in Christ to be saved and partake of Eternal Life with our loving Brother and Father.

Now both the love of the Father and that of my elder brother are very real and beyond my finite comprehension. And the scriptures are very clear in the importance of both sacrifice and faith in Christ. But how could two versions of this powerful verse of holy writ be so very different and yet so complete in capturing the roles of the Father, the Son, and me in the Atonement? I felt a little like Joseph Smith who, in sharing his frustrations with the many different interpretations of scripture among the different sects, said, "The teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible." In my case, the interpretations of the passage of scripture weren't the source of my confusion but the passages themselves. Which translation was correct? And if one was more correct, why did they both seem to me to be doctrinally sound and inspired?

As I got home, I decided to turn to the internet--the source of all Earthly wisdom. Despite the many traps and webs that have been weaved by another brother of mine, a serpent who might more aptly be described as a cunning arachnid in the context of the World Wide Web, the internet truly is a powerful tool that can be used for the best of purposes in furthering God's work and in easing our lives. I entered the following search terms: John, 3, 16, love, lay down lives, and translations. Thus spake Google: biblehub.com, biblestudytools.com, biblegateway.com, and topverses.com along with 43 million other hits. That's about 42.999995 million more hits than I needed. So I went to biblehub and quickly confirmed the correct citing of this verse from John by the woman on the radio according to the New International version of the Bible. Scanning the page, I quickly found that most translations of this verse appeared to be closer to the New International version than my King James version, including the English Standard, the New Living, the Holman Christian Standard, Webster's Bible, the Aramaic Bible in Plain English, and at least a dozen others. This was somewhat troubling to me. I've been able to recite John 3:16 from memory since I was a boy. It's words are so beautiful. It's message is even more beautiful. Now I was learning that much of Christendom was recording John the Beloved's words quite differently, in both a doctrinal and a literal sense, from those words that I have grown to cherish. What I saw next confused me even further. Biblehub cited the words of King James to be more aligned with those that I heard on the radio. Now I didn't have to open up the Bible sitting on the desk next to me to know that Biblehub was incorrect.

Back to Google. A different search landed me at Wikipedia, an open source, online encyclopedia. Knowing that anyone in the world with access to the internet and a mite of knowledge on any given subject can contribute to this living encyclopedia, I chose to read an article on John 3:16 to see what I could learn. I read about Christian graffiti: the numbers 316 being inconspicuously written on shopping bags of notable mall outlet stores and gas stations and even my drink cup at In 'N Out Burger. I read about Tim Tebow painting these numbers onto his eye black during the 2009 BCS championship game and the infamous "3:16 game" three years later where he threw for 316 yards in an NFL playoff upset where the numbers 316 also appeared in several other places in the stats. I read about "John 3 16" being the top Google search in the aftermath of the football game. I also read that John's verse is perhaps the most widely quoted verse from the Christian Bible. Finally, I found various translations of this verse, including versions from the two translations I had been comparing. Oddly enough, both versions reconciled with the words I had committed to memory years before as opposed to those from the radio. Wikipedia was clearly at odds with Biblehub.

Thoroughly confused now, I returned to Google to continue my research. I don't remember what I searched next, but I paused when the search results came up. The light bulb in my head came on when I saw the results, and I finally realized what I'm sure you've been aware of all along. There are multiple books with the name of John in your Bible and mine--four to be precise: the gospel of John and three epistles. And it just so happens that the verse I had heard on the radio and originally researched on the internet can be found in the first epistle of John, not the gospel of John. In my hurry to settle the confusion that had originated during my drive home, I failed to notice that every page I visited was clear to distinguish between John and 1 John. And the similarity of the two verses as noted before led me to assume that the different verses must be one and the same.

So what does all of this mean to me? First, a comment or two about Easter eggs. I'm not talking about the high-in-protein product of hens that we boil and color in the spring. I'm thinking about the hidden gems that programmers often include in games, DVD movies, and websites all over the internet for avid fans who go hunting for them. Star Trek fans might find an invisible DVD menu button that allows them to hear the director's commentary on the film in Klingon. Users of the Firefox web browser can type "about:mozilla" to find a verse of holy writ concerning Mammon from the fictitious Book of Mozilla. They can also find some robot fun facts including one of Asimov's three fundamental laws of robotics by visiting "about:robots." Microsoft Office users can find the credits for Excel presented in a flight-simulator-esque fashion. And, rather than playing as the dynamic duo of John Stockton and Karl Malone, a combination of joypad inputs can allow you to suit up as any of the core programmers in the arcade game NBA Jam. The average person might find Easter eggs such as this to be interesting or slightly amusing, but, in all likelihood, the humor and enjoyment of these Easter eggs is to be most appreciated by the kind of people who would take the time to seek them out.

As I discovered that I am clearly not the New Testament scholar I ought to be, I also felt like I had inadvertently found a scriptural Easter egg. This wasn't the first brightly colored gem that I've encountered in those holy books. But the power of "one" led me, after ten minutes of blundering around on the internet after failing to notice an important number one preceding a scripture reference, to a profound insight that is to me very colorful and very bright. And my simple faith allows me to believe that inspiration was at play when the compilers of our Bible numbered and separated verses and chapters of those sacred words. I do not believe it is a coincidence that two separate books authored by an apostle of the Savior both happen to contain a third chapter with a sixteenth verse that highlights the ultimate love that is shown through the single greatest act of love and our responsibility to exercise faith and to give of ourselves to show our gratitude for such love.

Usually Easter eggs are found by those who go hunting... that is, except for those lucky few who, when least expected, stumble upon candy-filled eggs months later with contents that are stale and rock-hard, but sweet and sugary nonetheless--yes, I have eaten a nine-month old Peep... those things must have a shelf life of 50 years! This particular Easter egg from John was one that I stumbled upon like that marshmallow bird, but it was so much more sweet and delectable to me.

In a week where I am thinking about my role as a father and the wonderful example that my father is and has been to me, my heart was turned to my Heavenly Father and His infinite love for me. As John's gospel makes clear, He asks for nothing in return but for my belief and my faith in Him and His Son. But, as John's epistle elaborates, the love that is learned through Christ's sacrifice and the Father's allowance and gift of this sacrifice drives me to want to more fully love my brothers and my sisters through self-sacrifice and obedience to God's commands.

There is no father alive that is more deserving of my love and honor this Fathers' Day. As King Benjamin makes clear, it doesn't matter how much we try to repay our God for His blessings and kindness, including his boundless love and patience, we will still be unprofitable servants as He immediately blesses us an hundredfold. So, no matter how much I try to return the love and repay Him for the goodness in my life, the scales will always tip in my favor. How's that for a compensation and benefit plan? Who wouldn't want to be in the employ of that Master?

Despite my inability to repay my Father, I nonetheless offer my tribute to Him now. My Father is the greatest dad there is. He knows me. He spends time with me. He is always near me and ready to help me in my distress. He's picked me up after many falls, He's rubbed my bruised knees and elbows, and He's encouraged me to get back on the bike. He entrusted me to an earthly father and mother who were perfect for me and my individual traits, be they strengths or weaknesses. He gave His approval and stood beside me as I exchanged vows with my best friend, His beautiful daughter. He entrusted three sweet and perfect angels to my care. He's always available to chat and He never protests when I do most of the talking, even if it is more complaining and venting than anything else. He overlooks my flaws and has not disowned me after my repeated offenses and disrespect to His will and His desires for me. I try to make Him proud. I often fall short of what I know He wants me to be. I'm sure I let Him down. But then He puts His arms around me and tells me very clearly in His special way that I am doing fine and that He will help make up the difference. And then there is always, always that infinite and boundless love, that is unconditional and eternal, that He showed and continues to show through the beauty of the Atonement that was wrought for me and that carries me forward from day to day.

Some day, along with Mother's Day and Father's Day, Secretaries' Day and Bosses' Day, the Hallmark card and floral industries may inspire a Brother's Day. I won't wait until that day to give honor to my elder brother for His role in that Atonement and His infinite love. But I will save that tribute for another day and focus the remainder of this week on my fathers, especially that Father of whom I've spoken here.

I have the opportunity and the privilege to speak with my Father often. Those words that I would share with Him are personal and will remain between the two of us. But as you are my brothers and my sisters, the children of this same Father, I want you to know that our Father does indeed love us. I know I am unprofitable. I know I have many weaknesses and flaws. I know I must repent and be better. But we can daily turn to our Father... our Dad... Abba, as Jesus so tenderly addressed Him. And He will listen. And He will answer. I am eternally grateful to have our Father as a dad. I am eternally grateful for His love. And I am eternally grateful for our brother, His Beloved Son. I will do all in my power to try to make Him proud. I hope you will do the same. In the end, I know that it is only through His grace and the Atonement of Jesus Christ that I can return to live in His presence. That is my hope, and that is my goal. And I look forward to reuniting with my Father alongside you my brother or my sister. And we can together help others of our family to be there with us on that joyous day.

God loved us, so he sent his Son,

Christ Jesus, the atoning One,

To show us by the path he trod

The one and only way to God.

In word and deed he doth require

My will to his, like son to sire,

Be made to bend, and I, as son,

Learn conduct from the Holy One.

Oh, love effulgent, love divine!

What debt of gratitude is mine,

That in his off'ring I have part

And hold a place within his heart.