JOHN 3:16

A little boy was selling newspapers on the corner of a busy street. People were rushing in and out of the cold. The little boy was so cold that he wasn’t even trying to sell many papers. He walked up to a policeman and said, “Mister, you wouldn’t happen to know where a poor boy could find a warm place to sleep tonight, would you? You see, I sleep in a box up around the corner there and down the alley and it’s awfully cold in there at night. Sure would be nice to have a warm place to stay.” The policeman looked down at the little boy and said, “You go down the street to that big white house and you knock on the door. When they open the door, you just say ‘John 3:16’, and they will let you in.” So he did. He walked up the steps, knocked on the door, and a lady answered. He looked up and said, “John 3:16.” The lady said, “Come on in, son.” She took him in and she seated him in a rocking chair in front of the fireplace. Then she excused herself. The boy 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 she came back and asked him “Are you hungry?” He said, “Well, just a little. I haven’t eaten much for a couple of days, and I guess I could stand a little bit of food.” The lady took him to the kitchen, where she had already prepared some food. He ate and ate until he couldn’t eat any more. Then he thought to himself: “John 3:16. Boy, I sure don’t understand it, but it sure makes a hungry boy full.” She took him upstairs to a bathroom, filled a huge bathtub with warm water, and he soaked for a while. As he soaked, he thought to himself: “John 3:16... sure don’t understand it, but it sure makes a dirty boy clean.” Then the lady came and took him to a room, tucked him into a feather bed, pulled the covers up around his neck, kissed him goodnight and turned out the lights. As he lay in the darkness and looked out of the window at the snow coming down on that cold night, he thought to himself: “John 3:16 ... I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a tired boy rested.” The next morning the lady came and called him to the breakfast table full of food. After he had eaten, she took him to the rocking chair in front of the fireplace again and picked up a Bible. She sat down in front of him, looked into his face and gently asked, “Do you understand John 3:16?” He replied, “No, Ma’am, I don’t. The first time I ever heard it was last night when the policeman told me to use it.” She opened the Bible at John 3:16 and began to explain to him the love of Jesus. Right there, in front of the fireplace, he gave his heart and life to Jesus. He sat there and thought: “John 3:16 - I don’t fully understand God’s love, but it sure makes a lost boy feel safe.” You know, I have to confess I don’t understand it either - how God was willing to send His Son to die for me, and how Jesus would agree to do such a thing. I don’t understand the agony of the Father and every angel in heaven as they watched Jesus suffer and die. I don’t understand the intense love for ME that kept Jesus on the cross till the end. I don’t fully understand it, but it sure does make life worth living! John 3:16 - “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.”