How God Picks up the Pieces
Scripture Reading — John 3:16-21
“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.”
—John 3:16
Some years ago while I was reading Genesis 3 (about Adam and Eve’s fall into sin) at a worship service, a little girl whispered to her mother, “Mom, can’t Adam and Eve go to heaven now?” She understood that something very serious had happened, and she wondered if anything or anyone could undo the damage done on that day.
She asked the right question: Could anyone pick up the pieces of a ruined creation? Or are we faced with the dilemma of an old nursery rhyme: “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall;/ Humpty Dumpty had a great fall./ All the king’s horses and all the king’s men/ couldn’t put Humpty together again.”
What no one else could do, God did by sending his Son, the Lord Jesus. Through his death and resurrection Jesus ushered in the kingdom of heaven, and by believing in him we can enter that kingdom.
Years ago a religious magazine printed a cartoon of two people talking to each other, with one person saying, “Talk, talk, talk. That’s all religion ever is—just a lot of talk.” On the next page were drawings of a newborn baby, a cross, and an open grave. Underneath the drawing was the question “You call that talk?”
The creator of the universe refused to let go, and John 3 shows how he went about restoring his creation.
Heavenly Father, thank you for your love that refuses to let go. Lord Jesus, thank you for loving us enough to come to save us. Amen.
About the author — Arthur J. Schoonveld
Rev. Art Schoonveld is a retired minister in the Christian Reformed Church. Before retiring in 2001, he served churches in California, Illinois, and Michigan. Since his retirement he has worked part-time for the denomination and has served as an interim pastor. Art and his wife, Anita, have four children and nine grandchildren.
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