I hadn't heard this story in a long time, but it brought a smile to my face. It's longer than my usual posts but worth the time - enjoy.
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 could not 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 at night. 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 to the door, 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. He
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, and took him to a room and tucked him into a big old
feather bed and pulled the covers up around his neck and kissed him good night
and turned out the lights. As he laid 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 she 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 she took a big old Bible and sat down in
front of him and she looked up at him and she asked, "Do you understand
John 3:16?" He said, "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 she 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 would be willing
to send His Son to die for me, and how Jesus would agree to do such a thing. I
don't understand it either, but it sure does make life worth living.
Amen?