Promised Deliverance

Promised Deliverance

Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

IN WORD Perhaps we’ve heard this verse so often that it has lost its impact. Familiarity breeds contempt, they say, and while we may not have contempt for this greatest and most precious of all promises, it does tend to go in one ear and out the other sometimes. It’s such a standard verse that we don’t stop and think about it, and that’s a shame. Today, stop and think about it.

Think about the sweeping scope of the promise: It applies to “whoever.” Think about the amazing simplicity: It requires only genuine belief. Think about the astounding implications: It’s the difference between eternal death and eternal life. And think about its unfathomable time frame: Eternity is a really, really long time.

Most of all, think about the high price of the promise. Consider the excruciating condescension of a God who would clothe Himself in human flesh, be tempted by all its fallenness, suffer all its pains, die one of the worst of its deaths, and do it with the kind of humility a lowly human being ought to have. We can scarcely imagine the king of a vast kingdom dying for the least of his citizens, but that’s what we’re asked to believe about our God. It doesn’t seem typical, and in fact it isn’t. It doesn’t even seem practical, and perhaps it’s not. But passion isn’t always typical or practical. It’s extravagant, persistent, and sometimes even absurd—at least on the surface. And yet, we are told, this absurd extravagance is lavished on us. Why? Because God so loved the world.

IN DEED That’s a lot of love. It’s hard for us to understand, because our love is usually limited or tainted with self-serving motives. But not God’s. His love results in promises that deliver us from utter catastrophe. And His promises are backed up with painful sacrifice.

If you ever doubt that God is serious about keeping His promises, consider this one. He promised salvation and He bled to keep that promise. There’s no greater guarantee than a promise written in divine blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down.

—ISAAC WATTS