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?
