And in time, Marie was well. She became a whole person. She was healed by sacrificial love. On a deeper level, that's the kind of deep love God gives to us in Jesus Christ. As the Scriptures put it, "By his stripes we are healed."
Here in John 3:16, we see the width of God's love (he loved the whole world), and we see the depth of God's sacrificial love (he gave his only son).
Finally, We See the Power of God's Love
God's love is a love so powerful that it can redeem and reconcile and save. Listen to it again: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."
Author Walter Wangerin tells a wonderful story about an experience he had some years ago with his son. When Matthew was seven years old and in the second grade, he became fascinated with comic books. So much so, that one day he stole some from the library. When Walter found the comic books in Matthew's room, he confronted him, corrected him, disciplined him, and took him back to the library to return the books. Matthew received a stern lecture regarding stealing from the librarian and also from his dad.
The following summer, however, it happened again. Matthew stole some comic books from a resort gift shop. Again Walter corrected him and told him how wrong it was to steal. A year later, Matthew once again stole comic books from a drug store. Walter decided he had to do something to get his attention and to underscore the seriousness of stealing.
So he took Matthew into his study and said, "Matthew, I have never spanked you before, and I don't want to now, but somehow I've got to get through to you and help you see how wrong it is to steal." So Walter bent Matthew over and spanked him five times with his bare hand. Matthew's eyes moistened with tears, and he sat there looking at the floor.
His father said, "Matthew, I'm going to leave you alone for a little while. You sit here, and I'll be back in a few minutes."
Walter stepped out of the study and he just couldn't help himself; he broke down and cried like a baby. The father cried and cried. Then he washed his face and went back into the study to talk to his little son. From that moment, Matthew never stole again. In fact, to the contrary, he became a generous, giving person.
Years later, as Matthew and his mother were driving home from a shopping center, they began to talk about some memories of his childhood. They remembered the incident with the comic books.
Matthew said, "Mom, after that, I never stole anything again from anybody, and I never will."
His mother asked, "Was it because your dad spanked you that day?"
"Oh no," Matthew explained, "It was because I heard him crying!" It wasn't the spanking that turned Matthew's life around; it was the power of his father's love.
God's love is so powerful that it can sustain us all through this life, and it can take us all the way to heaven. But please don't miss this. The text says, "Everyone who believes in him may not perish." That means we must accept God's love in faith. The Greek word for believe is "pisteo" which literally means faithful, believing, obedience. It means believing in God and his love so much that we stake our lives on God and commit our lives, heart and soul, to God.
Do you believe like that? Have you accepted the power of God's redeeming love into your life? If not, do it today! Don't waste another moment. Let God into your heart. Don't miss out on the greatest promise and the greatest gift this world has ever known.
2
The Promise of God's Presence with Us
Where the Risen Christ Meets Us
JOHN 21:15-19
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." A second time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go." (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, "Follow me."
On display in the magnificent Louvre Museum in Paris, France, is that dramatic painting of Goethe's Faust. Faust is seated at a table engaged in a competitive game of chess. And at first glance, it looks as if Faust is losing. His opponent is Mephistopheles, the devil of medieval legend. The devil sits there grinning smugly. He thinks he has the victory in hand. He is pointing at the chessboard gloating with an evil leer.
As you look at the painting, you can almost hear the devil shouting, "Checkmate! Game's over! I win!" However, one with a keen eye who knows the game of chess can see that the match is not over at all. As a matter of fact, just a few years ago, an internationally famous chess player was admiring the painting, when suddenly he lunged forward and exclaimed, "Wait a minute! Look! Faust has another move, and that move will give him the victory!"
That painting is something of a parable for us Christians, because there we see symbolized the good news of our faith.
Think of it. When we look at the cross on Good Friday, it looks (at first glance) as if evil has won. It looks like the defeat of righteousness. It looks as if goodness is dead and buried forever. It looks as if Christ has been silenced and conquered.
But then, on Easter morning, God's move is revealed, the greatest checkmate move of all time. Christ comes out of the grave and into our lives with power and victory.
Sometimes it does feel that evil is winning, but then along comes Easter to remind us that there is no grave deep enough, no seal imposing enough, no stone heavy enough, no wickedness strong enough to keep Christ in the grave. He will win. God and goodness will win. God and truth will win. God and love will win. And with amazing grace, God wants to share that victory with you and me. What a promise to stand on!
That is precisely what this touching passage in John 21 is about. Christ is resurrected and comes looking for Simon Peter. At crunch time, Simon Peter had failed; he had denied his Lord. Not once, not twice, but three times, he had denied his Lord! He needs forgiveness, reassurance. He needs new life. So the Risen Christ comes to meet him and give him what he needs. That's the good news of the Christian faith for us. Christ not only conquers evil and death, but he also resurrects us. That's what John 21 teaches us.
Remember the story with me. Some months earlier, Simon had left his fishing nets at the seashore to become a follower of Jesus. Jesus liked Simon. He included him in his closest circle of friends. He changed Simon's name to Peter (Petros, the Rock) because Jesus felt that he was strong, stable, and solid, like a rock.
But suddenly, things turned sour. Jesus was arrested, and Peter the Rock got scared. Under pressure, he crumbled, and on that fateful night, he denied his Lord three times. The next day, Good Friday, Jesus was nailed to a cross, and Simon Peter was devastated—shattered, defeated, brokenhearted.
But then came Easter, and Simon Peter was thrilled beyond belief, excited, gratified about Christ's resurrection. But he was still confused and perplexed about his
