THE WONDROUS MYSTERY OF JOHN 3:16

THE WONDROUS MYSTERY OF JOHN 3:16

In the windy city of Chicago on a cold wintry night, a huge blizzard was on the way.  A little boy was trying his best to sell newspapers on a street corner where people quickly raced by due to the severe cold.  The little boy was freezing and wasn’t selling many papers at all.  He walked up to a policeman and said, “Sir, you wouldn’t happen to know where a poor boy could find a warm place to sleep, would you?  I sleep in a box in the alley and it will be awfully cold tonight.  It sure would be nice to sleep in a warm place during the storm.”

The policeman looked down at the little boy and said, “You go down the street to that big white house and knock on the door.  When they open the door, you just say John 3:16 and they will let you in.”

The little boy mustered up courage and did it.  He walked up the steps, knocked on the door, and an aging lady answered.  The child looked up and the woman, and just as he was told, he said “John 3:16.”  The old lady simply smiled and welcomed him.  “Come on in, son.”

She took him in and sat him down in a rocker in front of a great big old fireplace, then walked away.  He sat there for a while and thought to himself, “John 3:16...I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a cold boy warm.”

Later the lady came back and asked invitingly, “Child, are you hungry?”  He said, “Well, just a little.  I haven’t eaten in a couple of days and I could stand a bit of food.”  The lady took him into her kitchen and sat him down to a table filled with delicious food.  He ate and ate until he couldn’t eat any more.  Then he thought to himself, “John 3:16...I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a hungry boy full.”

She took him upstairs to a bathroom and a huge bathtub filled with warm water.  And as he sat there soaking, he thought to himself, “John 3:16...I don't understand it, but it sure makes a dirty boy clean.  I haven’t had a real bath my whole life.  The only bath I ever had is when I stand in front of that big fire hydrant as they flush out.”

The lady came in to get him.  She escorted him to the guest bedroom, where she tucked him into a soft feather bed, kissed him goodnight and turned out the lights.  As he laid there in the darkness, looking out the window at the snow pouring down outside, he thought to himself, “John 3:16...I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a tired boy feel rested.”

The next morning, the woman came back and took him down to that same kitchen table, filled with food.  After the little boy ate, she led him to that same rocker in front of the fireplace, took out a Bible, sat near him and asked, “Do you understand John 3:16?”

The little boy answered honestly, “No, Ma’am, I don’t.  The first time I ever heard it was last night when the policeman told me to use it when I knocked on your door.”

The woman opened her Bible to John 3:16, and she began to tell the little boy about Jesus Christ.  And right there, in front of that old fireplace, he gave his heart and his life to Jesus.  Afterwards, he sat there alone and he thought, “John 3:16…I don't fully understand it, but it sure makes a lost boy feel safe.”

You know, after a lifetime of reading and studying the scriptures, I must be totally transparent and admit that I don’t completely understand it either.  How could one ever fathom how GOD would be willing to send HIS SON to die in our place, or how THE SON would ever agree to offer such a sacrificial gift?  “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.”  John 3:16…I don’t fully understand it either, but it sure makes life worth living.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING.  Maranatha!