In the city of Chicago, one cold, dark night, a
blizzard was setting in. A little boy was selling
newspapers on the corner, the people were in and out
of the cold. The little boy was so cold that he
wasn't 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 awful cold in there for tonight. 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 come out the door
you just say John 3:16, and they will let you in."
So he did. He walked up the steps and 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 sat him
down in a split bottom rocker in front of a great
big old fireplace, and she went off. 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 in a
couple of days, and I guess I could stand a little
bit of food." The lady took him in the kitchen and
sat him down to a table full of wonderful 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 to a huge
bathtub filled with warm water, and he sat there and soaked
for a while. As he soaked, he thought to himself:
John 3:16... I sure don't understand it, but it sure
makes a dirty boy clean. You know, I've not had a bath, a
real bath, in my whole life. The only bath I ever
had was when I stood in front of that big old fire
hydrant as they flushed it out.
The lady came in and got him. She took him to a
room, tucked him into a big old 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 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 back up and took him
down again to that same big table full of food.
After he ate, she took him back to that same big old split
bottom rocker in front of the fireplace and picked
up a big old Bible. She sat down in front of him and
looked into his young face.
"Do you understand John 3:16?" she asked gently.
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 to John 3:16 and began
to explain to him about Jesus. Right there, in front
of that big old fireplace, he gave his heart and
life to Jesus. He sat there and thought: John 3:16.
I don't understand it, 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 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.
verse 17. For God sent not his Son into the world to
condemn the world; but that the world through him might be
saved.
verse 18. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but
he that believeth not is condemned already, because he
hath not believed in the name of the only begotten
Son of God.
I do Love God. He is my
source of existence and Savior. He keeps me functioning
each and every day. Without Him, I would be nothing.
Without Him, I am nothing. But with Him I can do all
things through Christ that strengthens me. Phil 4:13