John 3:16 may very well be the most famous verse in the Bible. In this verse, Jesus declared: “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.” This was the verse through which the American evangelist D.L. Moody learned to appreciate the greatness of God’s love. More than 100 years ago, Moody was preaching a series of meetings in Dublin, Ireland (1867). While there, he met a young preacher named Henry Moorhouse, who told Moody, “I am thinking of going to America.” Moody replied, “If you should ever get to Chicago, I will give you a chance to preach.”
Sometime later, after Moody had returned home to Chicago, the evangelist received a telegram that said, “Have just arrived in New York. Will be in Chicago on Sunday. Moorhouse.” Moody would be absent from his pulpit on that Sunday, and so he instructed the elders of the church, “I think that I should let him preach once… then if the people enjoy him, put him on again.”
Moody had been gone for a week, and when he returned, he asked his wife, Emma, “How did the young preacher do?” She replied, “I like Moorhouse’s preaching very, very much… He is telling sinners that God loves them.”
“That is not right,” replied Moody. “God does not love sinners.”
“Well,” she said, “You go and hear him.”
Moody went to the meeting that evening. Moorhouse got up and began by saying, “I have been hunting for a text all week, and I have not been able to find a better text than John 3:16. So I think we will just talk about it once more.”
Afterward, Moody said it was on that night that he first clearly understood the greatness of God’s love. Moody later said, “I never knew up to that time that God loved us so much.” Because of his profound effect upon the life and ministry of D.L. Moody, Moorhouse is now known by biographers as the “man who moved the man who moved millions.”
Who can fully plumb the depths of God’s love? The angels in Heaven cannot do it. I cannot do it. In fact, not a single man born on this planet can do it. Jesus Christ is the only One who can comprehend the depth of the love of God because He and He alone is “love” incarnate. There are many joys that the saints will experience in Heaven, and one of those will be learning about the height, breadth, and depth of God’s love. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait!
