Dear Lighthouse,
Well, we’re six weeks into the NFL football
season and the Bills have finally picked up a win – and it was against the (hated) Dolphins! It was a good day. J
If you watch
football or many other sports you have probably seen someone in the crowd hold up a sign that reads: “John 3:16”. It’s not held by someone named John who was born on March 16th. No, it was actually a concerted effort started years ago by a group unknown to me,
but their intent was to buy tickets for big games in highly visible spots – like behind the goal posts – so they
could get out a message. They often had a guy in a bright rainbow wig sitting
there in the stands, between the uprights, holding the big white sign. And the
message they paid all this money and spent all this time to broadcast was this statement by Jesus:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish
but have eternal life.” John 3:16
Not a bad selection, wouldn’t you say? Of all the short passages of Scripture this stands as one of the most succinct in
sending out a message to the lost. Hopefully, if someone were curious enough
to go read it they would also read some of the surrounding verses as well, which tell us even more about God’s plan
and His character.
I think this verse, though overused in sports
perhaps, still has a wonderful relevance for the lost world today. Too many people,
Christian and non-Christian alike, live in ignorance and unhealthy fear of God. What
does He want? What is His plan? What
does God matter to me? These are serious questions which are often passed over
by the common person on the street because modern philosophers have made the search for the truth into a labyrinth of reason
riddled with dead ends, blind alleys, and colossal barricades to the life of simple faith.
The average person in America is amazingly ignorant of US history and world history, let alone Biblical history. Yet, so many can tell you who Ross has slept with on Friends, who the first round draft pick of the Oakland Raiders was in 2001, or what Scott Pederson wore in court
today. Why is this?
I believe the answer is, you guessed it - ignorance. People don’t know who God is, they don’t know He cares for them, and they
don’t see the deadly precipice that their life is teetering on because of their lack of knowledge. Put simply, God is not important or of interest to them.
That is why John 3:16 is a great verse for a
lost and apathetic world to hear. God did and DOES love His creation. He loves mankind. Oh, He’s been plenty frustrated with
Man over the years – once to the point of wiping out everyone except Noah’s family. But He loves us and has tried in every way to make a way for us to come back to Him in a righteous and
saving relationship. From death by plagues, to famines, to foreign captivity
and crucifixions, God has orchestrated all things in order to get Man’s attention and bring him back to the way it was
before Adam’s Fall. All has been allowed for our own good (Rom. 8:28).
Yet today we live among people who speak His
Name only in curses. People who think all religions have value and will lead
to Heaven or enlightenment. People who think churches are stuffy and irrelevant. Again, why?
I submit it is because they don’t know
any better.
Now, the natural thing to do is to point the
finger of blame at someone. Who failed?
Who is responsible for this apathy? Well, I don’t think you’ll
like my answer. The breakdown in the system, I believe, is the result of ignorant
Christians who are not living a morally pure and holy example in front of a world that is lost in darkness. I know some of you are new Christians. You have only recently
passed from the Darkness into the Light. What got you there? Did it just dawn on you one day that it was time to switch teams?
Probably not. Probably it was the result of someone in the Light sharing
the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ with you and then showing you what life in the Light looks like.
Hopefully you learned that God is not waiting
up there to ‘smite ye’. No, we have a Father in Heaven whose heart
is breaking for us to come to Him. We have a Father like the prodigal son’s
dad who runs to us when He sees us turning away from the moral filth of this world and seeking Him.
“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because
he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” John
3:17-18
This is the message and the challenge I want
to lay before you this week. The people we live with, work with, socialize with,
they all need to know the message of hope and love that is presented in the gospel of Christ.
We are the salt in this world (Matt. 5:13) to preserve it from damnation for a time.
We must become obedient to the Truth and then share the Truth to a world deceived by the lies of the Enemy. How will they know unless they’re told?
“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds
were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the
light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth
comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” John 3: 19-21
We who are sons and daughters of the Father,
who live in the Light, have an obligation (though we should be motivated by love alone) to get the word out. God does love Man so much that He made a way – one way – for us to be able to come back into
His holy family and be saved. The way is by accepting Jesus Christ, believing
in the fact that His sacrifice was good enough to cover our sin debt. But the
message falls on deaf ears if people don’t even see a need for a Savior. This
is where we need to start with each person where they are and teach them about God, His character, His plan, and so forth.
It is
a challenge of a lifetime. It is the challenge that God has set before us. We are not called ambassadors of Christ for nothing.
We have duty. But remember as you share the message that none of us saves
anyone by our words or our effort. Instead, we simply lead the person into knowledge
and then we must pray for them that God will urge their spirit forward into acceptance and obedience.
But they must
not fear our Lord or they will be reluctant to come. Instead, let’s try
and characterize Him accurately. Then once they see the grace that is available
to cover their deeds of darkness, they will come. Then our work will be done
because we did it through Him who gives us strength and eternal rewards.
So, let’s
take a lesson from the rainbow-wig guy. People need to know John 3:16. You be the sign!
Serving Him with you,
Evan
