A Thought about John 3:16

I was working through a Bible Lesson recently, and the citation from John 3:16 came up ... "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 seems to be the most common quoted verse ... the one that Christians seem to use as their statement of faith. But in my study of Christianity, I've been thinking a lot about God's "only begotten Son ..." It's always been believed in many circles that the only begotten Son of God was Jesus. But it dawned on me - it didn't make sense.

If we, as humans, are God's ideas, then aren't we all children of God? And being male and female, that makes us all sons or daughters of God. But this verse mentions only one "begotten" Son, not everyone of His sons. So the thought occurred to me - the "only" Son referred to here is the Christ, the Comforter, or the Holy Ghost. This one Christ is the only one - every one of His sons and daughters have access to it and express it when they reflect God's qualities of good and of love.

So really, the concept of everlasting life mentioned in this verse - the reward for those "who believeth in him" - is bestowed upon those who believe in the Christ. Believing in Jesus the man does not grant everlasting life - it's the belief in the Christ, the divine expression of God and His goodness. We all possess this Christ - it's a matter of us embracing it, understanding its power and understanding our relation to God, our Father-Mother.

This idea is backed up by Mary Baker Eddy, with her definition of "Son" in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: "The Son of God, the Messiah or Christ." (p. 584).

This seems to bring forth a fresher perspective on a long-quoted Christian statement of faith. Just imagine substituting "Christ" for "Jesus" in your thought as you read John 3:16, and even verse 17 as well, and you tell me if you don't see your faith a little differently.