A Soccerdad’s Love

Monday, March 31, 2008

One of my hopes and goals is to never quit on becoming a better man. It is a desire I hope to pass on to the boys. Each of them will have his own challenges, joys and disappointments in life. It is my hope that they will commit to living a Christ centered life where they look to God for strength and thank Him for each blessing.

This morning, I read again from Max Lucado’s book, 3:16 . . The Numbers of Hope. In his overview of the Great Conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus, Mr. Lucado shares that in the anti-Christ climate prevalent among the political and Jewish religious leaders, many of them Pharisees and Sandhedrin members, it was not a small feat for Nicodemus to approach the political leader responsible for Jesus’ death, a gentleman named Pontius Pilate, and ask for Jesus’ body.

The actions of Nicodemus follow on the heels Jesus telling Nicodemus in the house that nite what it means to be ‘born again’ by sharing the now famous verse, John 3:16. Jesus shared that God so loved the world that He gave. . . One can hear the pause to give Nicodemus and those present in the room time to reflect on the thought that God’s love prompted God to give. The reflection only deepened when they realized God gave His only begotten son. God gave his Son as a measure of His love for the world.

Jesus is sure to have paused again. He then shares that whosoever believes in Him. One can imagine another pause as Jesus made it clear to Nicodemus that God’s love was not restricted or limited to the Jews, or the rabbis or to the man who lives a very good life. Instead the promise is to whosoever believes… meaning embraces, trusts, relies upon.

And of course the next pause is to share the great promise that such a person will have eternal life with God. God loved and gave so we might have eternal life with Him.

Nicodemus and a leader from the Sanhedrin named Joseph of Arimathea, wanted to wrap the body of Christ with scents and spices as a show of respect and then to bury Jesus in the tomb that Joseph had picked out.

It is clear that the conversation with Jesus that nite had a great impact on Nicodemus. He privately visited Jesus in secret because his career and reputation as a leader of the Pharisees was at stake if it was known that he supported Jesus, or even associated with Jesus. Nicodemus now made a public request to show his personal respect for a man who claimed to be the Son of God and who could forgive sin. The Great Conversation had clearly lead to a Great Conversion.
Nicodemus decided he would be a whosoever.

Monday, March 3, 2008 The Great Conversation Focuses on God’s Giving

I have missed going through Max Lucado’s book, 3:16 . . The Numbers of Hope the past few days. This morning, my meditation took me to another portion of the Great Conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus in the room that nite. It was a continuation of course of the theme expressed by Jesus to Nicodemus at the beginning of the conversation when Nicodemus that God was ‘with him (Jesus”. Jesus said that a man must be born again. It is clear from the dialogue that this response catches Nicodemus off guard and by surprise, and naturally he questions the response.

Jesus culminates the conversation with the statement God so loved the world, that He gave His Son. This of course says a mouthful. Each person in the room that nite must have thought long and hard about these words. The focus of Christianity begins with this focus.. that God loved and God gave. That is the focus we must have as we relate to God.