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 wasn't trying to 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 for tonight. 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 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 fireplace, and she went off. The boy 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 fire hydrant as
they flushed it out.
The lady came in and got him. She took him to a room, tucked him into a
big
old feather bed, pulled the covers up around his neck, kissed him
goodnight
and turned out the lights. As he lay 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 the lady 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 picked up a big Bible.
She sat down in front of him and looked into his young face. "Do you
understand John 3:16?" She asked gently. He replied, "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 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....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 was
willing to send His Son to die for me, and how Jesus would agree to do
such
a thing. I don't understand the agony of the Father and every angel in
heaven as they watched Jesus suffer and die. I don't understand the
intense
love for ME that kept Jesus on the cross till the end. I don't understand
it, but it sure does make life worth living.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.