THE ANTIDOTE - A STUMBLING BLOCK
 
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.  John 3:14 

        Such were the words of Jesus to Nicodemus following a talk about being born again in the Spirit.  Nicodemus had been confused by Jesus' imagery but perhaps with the analogy of the serpent in the wilderness, his confusion began to clear.  He, being an educated man in the Scriptures, new the story of his ancestors in Numbers 21.  They had disobeyed God and as a consequence, were suffering the deadly bites of red snakes.  Nicodemus remembered what the antidote had been per God's instruction. Moses was to fashion a brass snake, raise it on a pole, and those who looked to it would be saved.  Their cure was not in killing the snakes to create an antidote from the venom.  It was to look to the instrument of God's provision.  How foolish it must have seemed to the children of Israel to trust a metal snake on a pole in order to be saved.  Perhaps, for some, it was a stumbling block and they refused to act so foolishly.  Their disbelief cost them their lives.
    A deadly, venomous poison ran through the veins of the Israelites.  It would claim their lives unless they looked up to God's provision of deliverance and believed.  Sounds familiar, doesn't it.  Only a remnant today is willing to acknowledge the deadly poison of sin that infects them.  We do not try to save ourselves with man made antidotes.  We've tried with our good works, with counseling and behavior modification.  All that transpires is a good effort which masks the miserable condition of our souls.  We pretend to be holy, when at the core, sin rages.  We speak of peace but toss and turn when bedtime comes.  We look unselfish but in some way, our good deeds are self-serving.  We speak of spiritual health but in secret, our addictions simmer out of control.
    The only antidote for our soul's disease is looking to the One who was raised toward the sky.  Jesus was lifted up.  He is the One who doesn't just cover up sin, He removes it.  Jesus, the One crucified, is a stumbling block to many of His own children though.  Once saved, we struggle with our own powerlessness to save our own souls daily from the deadly things which infect us.  Just as we looked to the cross for eternal salvation, we must look to the cross for daily salvation.  James said it beautifully.  "In humility, receive the Word implanted which is able to save your souls."  May we never be shy to admit our need for such salvation.   Moment by moment, I look up for His saving graces. 
 

You offer life to everything that kills.  I look up, even now.  In Jesus' name, Amen
 

 

 

Christine Wyrtzen
Daughters of Promise