John 3:16

This was sent to me by my dear sister in Christ, Carol Manzo. I hope that
you enjoy it as much as I did.

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 t he 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 old 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 :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 bath tub 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
old 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 old 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 ... I 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.

John 3:16 ...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."