Walls
September 17, 2015
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.”
Jesus pronounces the good news in John 3:16 and then later He explains why most people will not accept it. . .”The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light.” Now, listen to what Morgan Freeman’s character says about prison in the movie Shawshank Redemption: “These walls are funny. First you hate em. Then you get used to em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That’s institutionalized. They send you here for life; that’s exactly what they take. The part that counts anyway.” The walls of sin are exactly the same. First, you hate being a slave to sin. As you continue sinning more and more, you get used to it. Enough time passes, you can become institutionalized in sin and actually begin to depend on those walls. I believe Jesus is alluding to this fact in John chapter three. Many people will not come to Him because they are dependent upon sin, and it has become part of their identity. They now fear the change that will happen if they become committed to Christ. As a pastor, it is heartbreaking to see these walls in the lives of people. So here are some questions for us: what are the “walls” we have in our own lives? What is keeping us from growing in our relationship with Christ? What changes are we afraid to make? Hebrews 12:1 encourages us to “Strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.”
– Brandon Dasinger, Missions Pastor
but have eternal life.”
Jesus pronounces the good news in John 3:16 and then later He explains why most people will not accept it. . .”The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light.” Now, listen to what Morgan Freeman’s character says about prison in the movie Shawshank Redemption: “These walls are funny. First you hate em. Then you get used to em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That’s institutionalized. They send you here for life; that’s exactly what they take. The part that counts anyway.” The walls of sin are exactly the same. First, you hate being a slave to sin. As you continue sinning more and more, you get used to it. Enough time passes, you can become institutionalized in sin and actually begin to depend on those walls. I believe Jesus is alluding to this fact in John chapter three. Many people will not come to Him because they are dependent upon sin, and it has become part of their identity. They now fear the change that will happen if they become committed to Christ. As a pastor, it is heartbreaking to see these walls in the lives of people. So here are some questions for us: what are the “walls” we have in our own lives? What is keeping us from growing in our relationship with Christ? What changes are we afraid to make? Hebrews 12:1 encourages us to “Strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.”
– Brandon Dasinger, Missions Pastor