With a hollow stare and pale complexion, he reluctantly boards a ship headed for uncharted waters. Despite what he feels, he knows he must put some distance between himself and the love he is convinced he will never have. The only problem... she actually loves him too. Two people so close to experiencing a loving relationship, both deeply caring for the other, and yet neither are aware. The plot is thick, yet as a viewer, so frustrating. Aware of both perspectives and still incapable of intervening we simply shake our heads and say, "If they only knew.” This is the feeling I got as I meditated on John 3...
John spent his life actively waiting for the unbridled love of Heaven to plant His feet on earth. John saw his life’s purpose as “one who was to prepare the way" for the coming of that love to broken humanity. He was sure that Jesus Christ was God’s promised One. When Christ did appear, He was thrilled, humbled and joyful. It was as if He fully expected his disciples to follow Jesus, his fame to fade into the glory of Christ's and others to be as confident in Jesus as He was. Like a movie watcher, He saw the big picture. Yet standing in the gap between the question in every human heart and the answer from heaven, he must have felt helpless. In verses 31 and 32 he laments… “He [Jesus] has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them!”
“The Way, The Truth and The Life” extending Himself to the lost, the confused and the lifeless. Men and women who are so close to redemption, and yet they don’t know His love. So… frustrating. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We don’t have to wander, run, or board the outbound ship, filled with ambiguity, questioning the intent or reality of the lover of our souls. We can pivot, turn from our way, and run to Him. In the end, we will either know the love of God through Christ or move away from it. I wonder if the angels look upon mankind and think... “If They Only Knew.”
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16
- Micah McElveen