WATCHWORD:
9 “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.
10 Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? 11 I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. 12 But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man[e] has come down from heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.[f]
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave[g] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:9-17
Meditation:
What If…?
I said, I’ll read the book you recommended. It may appeal to you but I’m not so sure. So, as promised, I began to read, and I got caught up in the plot. My hero was almost constantly at risk. So, as I’ve done before, I turned to the final chapter to see if my hero is still among the living.
“What are you doing,” she asked? “You’re going to ruin the story.”
Well, maybe I did, and to know the rest of the story where my hero survives, did take some of the edge off the plot, but didn’t change the story. I can’t help but think that we who have embraced Christ as our Lord and Savior, see the Resurrection as the pivotal point in our Christian walk, know that God’s plan is unfolding, and we have been blessed with eternal life. We think we know the rest of the story.
As we read passages in the New Testament, knowing the rest of the story, it is like we have a spiritual time machine. Those disciples were still trying to decide who is this Jesus? But we already know. Despite the healings, the teachings, the miracles, they were still thinking this man would lead to the overthrow of the Romans. But, we know differently. What they would find out later, is that this man would lead to the overthrow of sin and be the straight way to eternal life. See, we already know that!
Where are we in that timeline? Do we rest in confidence that through Jesus the Christ, we step through the gate, into eternal life? That through Christ we do not fear death? That we have confidence that our future is assured?
Remember that little question that we’ve encountered along our life journey, you know the one that asked “if you knew you could not fail what would you risk?” Interesting puzzle to speculate upon. What, indeed would you risk?
How would it change Peter, John, Mary, and the rest of the followers to have known at the start that this was the Son of God? That this was THE miracle worker? Would the feeding of 5,000 have any real meaning? How about the calming of the storm? Raising Lazarus? Of, course, no big deal, after all this is the Son of God, why couldn’t he do all that? Oh, hum.
But, that’s not how it happened. The parables did teach. The lessons were learned. Choices had to be made to follow or not. To follow led to eternal life, based on faith and faith alone. No proof, no assurances, no guarantee, just faith. To not follow, led to—well, maybe we don’t really want to know. So, I paged through to the last chapter, and searched for the name of my hero. I couldn’t find him. My hero wasn’t there! My motivation to read on was gone. I knew the rest of the story—or did I?
Jesus came into our lives and to all who believed in him and followed him, he gave eternal life. What does eternal life mean? We will find out. Ah, that is the rest of the story. Thank you, Jesus, for the mystery of faith and its glorious rewards. Amen.
True Story — John Wayne, hero:
John Wayne was a big fan of Rev. Robert Schuller. On one of his Hour of Power programs the ‘Duke’ heard Dr. Schuller say his daughter, Cindy, had been in a terrible motorcycle accident and had to have her leg amputated.
John Wayne wrote a note to her saying: “Dear Cindy, I’m sorry to hear about your accident. Hope you will be all right.” And he signed it, John Wayne. The note was delivered to her and she replied: “Dear Mr. Wayne, I got your note. Thanks for writing to me. I like you very much. I am going to be all right because Jesus is going to help me. Mr. Wayne, do you know Jesus? I sure hope you know Him, because I cannot imagine heaven being complete without John Wayne being there. I hope, if you don’t know Jesus, that you will give your heart to Jesus right now. See you in heaven.” And she signed her name.
Shortly after, her letter was delivered to Wayne during a dinner party at a restaurant in Newport Beach. There were 12 people that night, all sitting around the table for dinner. Wayne took out the letter, still sealed, and opened it. The crowd kept on laughing and cutting up and someone happened to look over at John Wayne. He was crying. One of them asked, “Hey, Duke, what’s the matter?” He said, “I want to read you this letter” … and he read it out loud. Then he began to weep again. He folded the letter, put it in his pocket and then pointed to the man who delivered it to him and said, “You go tell that little girl that right now, in this restaurant, right here, John Wayne gives his heart to Jesus Christ and I will see her in heaven.”
Three weeks later John Wayne died! You simply never know how giving witness to another person may affect their eternity! What if…?
Prayers to Strengthen our Witness:
God of hope and courage, you call each of us to bear witness to your abundant love in a frightened world. All around us are signs the world is struggling and the future is unclear. Strengthen our confidence in your unfailing grace and grant us the courage to move onward even when we cannot see the way, knowing that you will guide our every step. Amen.
Empowering God, you called your disciples to share the good news of your love to the ends of the earth. They were a motley crew, many from the margins of the society of their day. Sometimes I feel on the margins of life, and I wonder if you can use me. Remind me that power comes from you and you alone. Give me a courageous and willing spirit so that I may boldly go wherever and to whomever you send me. Amen.
God, our witness is only as good as the love it conveys. Help us to convey Your love through words and acts. Giving meaning and purpose to the grace-filled lives You have given. These prayers are offered in the Name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen
