John 3:16  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

This past Sunday I had a marvelous experience with this verse.  It is unquestionably one of the best known verses in the Bible and maybe that familiarity leads us to gloss over it a bit. But Sunday when Mike, our pastor, talked about it, God just blessed me once again with a glimpse of the magnificence that it is.

It was like Moses at the burning bush.  He saw something and rather than pass on by, he turned aside and suddenly encountered God.  Seeing a bush on fire is no big deal.  Seeing a bush on fire and not burning up – unusual.  Encountering God – huge!  Exodus 3:6 describes what Moses encountered when he turned aside to look more closely at the burning bush.

Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

 The Lord has this way of surprising us with unexpected insights and experiences.  We see or hear something and when we pause in our thoughts to consider it – turn aside – all of a sudden we encounter our God!

Remember the two on the road to Emmaus?  Jesus came and walked with them but they were prevented from recognizing him.  Then because their hearts were moved, they sought him to stay with them as it was late.  As he broke bread and gave it to them,

Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. ³² They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the  Scriptures to us?”(Luke 24:31-32)

 On Sunday, when I was drawn to this verse, the Lord opened it and suddenly I was just bathed by the richness of His incredible love.  It was like cascading waves breaking over me again and again, saturating me with His love and His joy that we are His – that I am His!  And the wonder that we have Jesus!

As I sat there Sunday morning – and as I sit here writing this today – there are just no words to describe the wonder of our relationship with Him.  And to think that is just a foretaste of what is to come!  Because of Jesus, we are His for all eternity!