In John 3, we find Jesus in a conversation with Nicodemus.  Nicodemus was trying to wrap his well-educated, powerful brain around the fact that the Savior of his people didn’t look like, act like, or teach like Nicodemus thought he should.  What Nicodemus was really wrestling with was the gospel. 

I’ve always liked Nicodemus, probably because I’ve stepped into the ring and gone a few rounds with the gospel myself.  There is a tiny corner of my mind and  heart that gets it:  I am a sinner, deserving of eternal separation from a Holy God.  Through His death on the cross, Jesus paid the penalty for my sin and made a way for me to be reconciled to the Father. (Romans 6:23)   But like some of you I struggle to convince my whole self that the gospel can be this simple.  Surely, I need a lot of good works to save me.  Maybe if I run myself ragged, involving myself in every possible ministry, I will please God.

So Nicodemus is wrestling with the gospel and he said to Jesus, “How can anyone be born when he is old? … Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?” (John 3:4)   A few short verses later, we see Nicodemus finally collide with gospel truth:  “For God loved the world in this way:  He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will 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” (John 3:16–17)

When I try to create a list of requirements for my salvation, nothing that I can think of merits or even comes close to what Jesus has done.  It is beyond my understanding that God loves us so much!  That’s why He sent Jesus here - not to condemn us but to save us.  May this simple - astounding truth about our God - never grow stale in our hearts and minds.