Encounter

We've begun a new series at Crosspoint called Encounter. It's a look at five different people who had one-on-one encounters with Jesus and whose lives changed forever. This past week we looked at John 3 and the story of Nicodemus. We learned that even though Nicodemus was a good Jew in every sense of the word and sought to live an upright life by trying to keep the law, Jesus told him that he needed one thing and that was being born from above. It must have rocked his world to hear such direct language from Jesus, but Jesus wanted Nicodemus to know the truth. And Nicodemus was willing to hear what Jesus had to say. I'm so glad for this story for I know there are many who have come to believe today that because they are good Catholics or good Baptists or religious or were baptized as a baby or attend church every week that that's good enough to get them to Heaven. But Jesus stated unequivocally that those things are not good enough. It's not what we do or have done, but what Jesus has done for us. His death on the cross for our sins was the price paid to bring us into relationship with the Father. All we must do is believe in this and repent and accept this free gift of grace. Nicodemus came to believe this for at the end of the gospel of John we see Nicodemus step forward to bury the body of Jesus. May all of us come to encounter this same Jesus in all his glory.