Memory

John 3:14-21
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

Have you ever gone back to a place where you did something wrong? Perhaps visiting a restaurant where you pulled a practical joke, or had to go to the home of a peer you picked on to apologize. It’s never fun to visit places that make us feel shamed, but the place can serve as a reminder of God’s grace and forgiveness.

The Israelites were not asked to do a pleasant thing when told that if they look at the snake Moses lifted up they will live (v.14). The snake was the very thing that had killed many of them, and now they were commanded to look at it in order to have life. When we look to Christ and remember the reason why He was crucified (v.16) we think of our Savior and how wonderful He is. But we also think of how He suffered. He endured pain and death so that we can have eternal life (v.15).

It was not easy for the Israelites to look at the bronze snake: they were reminded of what had taken the lives of many they loved. So it is not easy for us to think of Christ dying on a cross on the hill of Calvary. But that same image, that is almost too difficult to bear, also reminds us of our redemption and forgiveness from sin.

It is difficult to return to places where we were wrong; places that hold painful memories. But God can use all things for His glory. When we are confronted with difficult memories we should not let them cripple us as we remember times of pain. We should let them reassure us that Jesus’ blood gave us freedom from our sins and the promise of eternal life.

(Courtesy of C. Himes)