Crossroads

Here is a photo of my son, Daniel, age 7, playing baseball. It is a common practice for kids his age to watch a ground ball come their way and not put the glove on the ground to stop it. Then the ball rolls underneath them and the batter gets a base hit. I lay out the logic to him over and over, "put your glove on the ground before the ball gets there and you will stop the ball!" That is the truth, plain and simple! Daniel has a decision to make. Until Daniel is able to embrace that truth and act on it, he will continue miss the ball. I'm just glad that he has started to embrace the truth of this rule of baseball and has started to see results in his game!

Shifting focus on our study, let's look at John 3: 13 to 15, focusing on v. 14 and 15..."so must the Son of Man be lifted up."

Jesus continues His dialog with Nicodemus. The conversation grows stronger and more intriguing. Jesus makes three profoundly strong statements in v. 13 to 15, as follows:

1. Jesus says He has come down from Heaven and no one else has ever done this. He is alluding to the fact that He alone can speak of Heavenly facts.

2. He says He will be "lifted up" (v14), referring to the fact that He will be raised up on the cross, a prediction of his near future. His analogy to Moses' lifting the serpent, refers to people being saved by the event. Refer to the Old Testament in Numbers 21:5-9. This is an analogy to the healing that God does from people's sin. It shows what God will do when Christ is "lifted up" on the cross. He will save people from their sins.

3. The most profound statement of all, Jesus says that if someone "believes in Him" they will "not perish but have everlasting life".

These are three strong statements about who Jesus is. But the third is the strongest. Remember, Nicodemus is in a secret meeting with Jesus. Nicodemus wanted to meet with Him because he perceived Him as someone special and "of God". In this private meeting with one of the most elite members of the Israeli society, Jesus drops the bomb,.......someone can get everlasting life by believing in Jesus...??? Just like Nicodemus, most people have those thoughts about who Jesus was....He was a great man....a prophet....a noble person.... or even someone who has been looked on with favor by God. But can we get eternal life by knowing Jesus and believing in Him?

The point here is that Nicodemus and all who are seeking an understanding of who Jesus is, are at a crossroads. When Jesus says you can have eternal life from belief in Him, you need to go down one of two roads....

Road A - Say "wow...Jesus is Lord and realize He is who He said He was, our Savior, our path to Heaven"!

-or-

Road B - Say " You've got to be kidding. There are many roads to God and Heaven and maybe Jesus is one of them. What Jesus is saying cannot be true!"

If you choose Road A, you are on the road to a faith and relationship with Jesus. If you choose Road B, you then reject the teachings of Jesus and conclude the crux of His message is false and He is a fake.

The words above may be harsh, but the bottom line is that Jesus says He is the only way to Heaven. Faith and belief in Him will result in everlasting life. How does this apply to us? Well, if you have not made a commitment to Jesus and have placed your faith in Him, you can do it now. You can pray for the Holy Spirit to enter your life and begin following Him! What Jesus said is True and He is the only one that has come down from Heaven and revealed heavenly perspectives to us. He is our savior.

Today can be the day to shift your life from seeking the truth......... to a life exploring the beautiful truth's of our Creator!

"Lord Jesus, thank you for your strong statements and your clarity of where our beliefs should lie. Amen"