~ by Terry Walters
John 3:14-18
Recognize the words in the title from
Shakespeare's famous “Hamlet’s soliloquy?”
He was contemplating whether to continue life
despite all its troubles or to find a way to end it all,
wondering if that might even be worse.
Well, God already answered that for us! Our scripture,
which contains probably the most famous verse of all,
tells us we start life already condemned.
Our sinful nature, inherited from conception,
is antithetical to God. If something doesn't change,
we will be condemned for eternity because we already
are condemned from the start for being sinful.
John 3:16 is called the gospel in a nutshell,
because in one verse we see the whole gospel!
The good news, and that is literally the meaning of the word gospel,
is that God has provided the only way for us not to be condemned!
God sent His son Jesus, to be condemned for us.
To receive eternal life,
all we need to do is believe in Him!
Paul said that to live is Christ and to die is gain.
So much better than Hamlet's perceived predicament.
He saw life as nothing but trouble and sorrow
and death as even more of the same.
Paul saw living and dying God's way as a
blessing in life with even better things to come.
The choice is yours!
Prayer: 1) for those who need it – Father, forgive me for being a sinner.
Come into my life and be my Lord and Savior.
2) for those who are already saved - Father, thank you for saving me!
Help me live for you until I die in you.
P.S. Jesus said that as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
so would He have to be lifted up in order to draw all men to him.
What had happened with Moses was that God sent poisonous snakes
into the camp of the Israelites to punish them for their sin.
Then God told Moses to fashion a bronze serpent,
fasten it to the top of a pole,
and set the pole in the middle of the camp.
Whoever would look up to the serpent on the pole,
would be saved from the poisonous bites.
Jesus compared that to Him dying on the cross.
Whoever looks to Jesus will be saved!
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