John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, which He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
What of Today’s Verse…
AS CHILDREN, we read “Alice in Wonderland,” but at the end of life, we shall still find ourselves in Wonderland! Perhaps there is a deeper truth than we know in the description of old age as a second childhood, because the child-spirit ever lives in a Paradise of mystery, questioning and wonder.
There are causes for wonder in the small compass of this verse! The first is that God loved and loves the world. We are not surprised to learn that He made the world, because—except where men have spoilt it–it is so beautiful. Or that He has a name for it, because He called them all by name, as He brings out their hosts by number. So small, is our world amid the myriad constellations, but nevertheless, it is belted, environed, encompassed by the Love of God.
The second Wonder is that the Only Begotten Son came to dwell with us. Is it not wonderful that the Son of God should have passed by all other worlds, and come to this. That this earth was trodden by His blessed feet that He has incorporated its transfigured dust into the texture of His Divine Nature–this is all so wonderful, that we are disposed to believe that our world must be the pivot of the universe—its nursery, college, and training ground.
The third wonder is that Eternal Life is within the reach of whosoever. The A.V. gives the word “everlasting,” but the R.V. translates it as “eternal.” God gives us not quantity but quality of life. Time is a method of thought necessitated by our human limitations, and therefore some day will come to its end. Eternal Life is an ever-present NOW–of Love and Life and Light, enjoyed in fellowship with God. And this is for Whosoever! Each of us may insert his or her name in the blank, and say, “that I may have eternal life.” It is so wonderful, that the thought could not have been invented or suggested by the wit of man. It bears the imprint and seal of God Himself, who made us in His image, and after His likeness, that we might become the partakers of the Divine Nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (Gen_1:26; 2Pe_1:4).
Let us Pray:
The world is dear unto Thee, O Heavenly Father; Thou didst send Thy Only Son to save it, and Thy Spirit to comfort and renew. May He brood over the chaos of this distracted world, and may order, peace, and love reign among men. AMEN.
Words of Wisdom
The Discipline Of Dejection
Every fact that the disciples stated was right; but the inferences they drew from those facts were wrong. Anything that savours of dejection spiritually is always wrong. If depression and oppression visit me, I am to blame; God is not, nor is anyone else. Dejection springs from one of two sources – I have either satisfied a lust or I have not. Lust means – I must have it at once. Spiritual lust makes me demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Who gives the answer. What have I been trusting God would do? And to-day – the immediate present – is the third day, and He has not done it; therefore, I imagine I am justified in being dejected and in blaming God. Whenever the insistence is on the point that God answers prayer, we are off the track. The meaning of prayer is that we get hold of God, not of the answer. It is impossible to be well physically and to be dejected. Dejection is a sign of sickness, and the same thing is true spiritually. Dejection spiritually is wrong, and we are always to blame for it.
We look for visions from heaven, for earthquakes and thunders of God’s power (the fact that we are dejected proves that we do), and we never dream that all the time God is in the commonplace things and people around us. If we will do the duty that lies nearest, we shall see Him. One of the most amazing revelations of God comes when we learn that it is in the commonplace things that the Deity of Jesus Christ is realized.
“But we trusted . . . and beside all this, today is the third day . . .” Luke 24:21
