Sunday Gospel John 3:14-21
Jesus said to Nicodemus: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.
I should have known earlier. I look back and clearly remember something that bothered me years ago. My husband and I were watching a sporting event together and saw a sign held up in the stands. The sign was clear but the message was not.
JOHN 3:16
My husband scoffed and said something rude about the person holding the sign. I asked him what the sign meant and he said he didn’t know, that he had looked it up at one point and it made no sense to him and it had nothing to do with sports anyway.
I remember feeling very uneasy about his statement and decided to look up the passage on my own. I am not sure how much time passed before I followed through and am ashamed to say it was probably a long while, but I did look up that sign and I understood the message.
Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. he became man by choice and his FATHER, our Lord, sent him to survive what must have been close to hell on earth for him only to be killed in a horrific way.
Why did he do this?
God and Jesus have such love for you as a person that they are willing to join in your suffering to not just sympathize with your pain, but to experience the pain of life on earth and to show you there is a way to Heaven and that is through Jesus Christ.
We often speak of Jesus dying on the cross, but we often forget the pain Jesus must have felt as others ridiculed him, bullied him, and tried to beat down his spirit.
Remember John 3:16.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.
God so loves you.
Church Activities For Sunday March 18, 2012
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