John 3:14-16 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: (15) That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (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."
I begin the writing this morning with something that might seem completely off
subject. Jesus told a parable of a young man who was lured away from home by
the "bright lights of the big city." We call it the parable of the
Prodigal Son. I refer to this parable because of one statement that the young
man makes while he is away from his father's house. He had sunk to the depths
of despair because no one in that "world to which he had escaped"
cared for him. He finally found a man who gave him a job feeding swine. He ate
the same feed that the pigs ate in order to keep from sobbing. One day,
"he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's
have bread enough and to spare, and I PERISH (emphasis mine) with hunger!"
(Luke 15:17)
You might ask, "Why do you bring that parable into the picture with John
3:16?" In the verses for today (and previously) Jesus gave the account of
the people of Israel who were wandering away from the world of sweet fellowship
with the Lord and reminiscing about the "world of fellowship with
Egypt." He sent the fiery serpents to bring them back to Him where the
true fellowship is needed. For the young man, he sent the "world of feeding
pigs" in order to bring the son back to the world of sweet fellowship with
his father. God loved those Israelites back there in the wilderness and gladly
received them back into fellowship with Himself under His own terms. That
father truly loved his son who was a prodigal and gladly received him back
under his own terms.
God loves you so much that He has designed a "world of sweet fellowship
with Himself." He has given the means whereby you and I can enjoy that
world. He "gave His only begotten Son." His Son was lifted up
on the cross where He shed His precious blood that we would have Spiritual
life. There is no other way to God. There is no fullness of life outside of the
Son of God. In order to enjoy that life, we must exercise the God-given gift of
faith. The Israelites believed they would be spared when they looked upon the
brazen serpent. The prodigal son believed the love of his father was sufficient
to receive him back. Jesus was lifted up on the cross and His blood is
sufficient for our fellowship with the Father.
John 3:16 has multiple layers to its understanding. This morning, I want us to
see there is no better place to have fulness of life than when we are in
fellowship with our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. It's simple. I have broken
off just a small bit for us to think about this morning. The Lord willing, we
will spend more time with John 3:16 in the days to come.