“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.” John 3:16

When we study scripture we find moments where God communicates with MORE THAN WORDS. These messages from God seem extreme and can be jarring to us. Consider just a few of these examples.

God tells Isaiah to preach naked to illustrate the shame that will fall upon Egypt and Ethiopia (Isaiah 20:1-4).

God asks Ezekiel to be tied up and lay sideways for 430 days to communicate the confinement of the sins of Judah (Ezekiel 4:1-5:4).

God directs Hosea to marry a prostitute who is unfaithful which demonstrates the unfaithfulness of God’s people who are betrothed to Himself (Hosea).

God calls Abraham to kill his one and only son as a sacrifice (Genesis 22).

These seem extreme and perhaps even unnecessary until you consider what the consequence is in failing to hear, see, and respond to such messages. In any one of these messages the goal is the call to faithfully follow and trust God alone. To ignore this message has an outcome that is far more extreme than anything the LORD is demonstrating.

Let me give you a modern example. The headline read, “Local High School Students Get Reality Shock with Drunk Driving Accident Demonstration.” These staged mock drunk driving accidents have been going on for years and include very graphic portrayals. The shock is real…but the result of an actual drunk driving accident is more extreme to the families who endure years of suffering from tragic loss.

Another one that shocks is the commercial in which a lady who has to speak through a hole in her throat and use of an artificial voice box due to cancer caused by smoking. It’s uncomfortable to watch and listen to her talk yet the warning is clear.

But as shocking and uncomfortable as the above illustrations might be there is a real life message that is even more troubling and more important. That is that God would send His One and only Son to die for you and for me (John 3:16). Jesus’ crucifixion communicated the extreme result of our sins which is death and separation from God. To miss this message and warning has eternal suffering as the consequence.

However, God sending His Son also communicates another message that we don’t want to miss. Seeing this extreme demonstrates God’s great love for you! Seeing the amount of agony, suffering, and pain that Christ encountered means that this love was MORE THAN WORDS. Seeing Jesus alive again and risen from the dead communicates that eternal life is also MORE THAN WORDS. Eternal life is a real life result of Jesus. Believe in Him, follow Him, be changed by Him, and commit to His mission to love others as He first loved you.

Prayer
Lord God, we thank You for the way that You have a very deep, committed desire to communicate to us warnings about our sin. Even more so, we are so grateful for the commitment You have in communicating that Your love is more than just words on a page. But through Your Son Jesus, You have delivered that love and You have won us by His crucifixion, by His death, by His overcoming the grave and his resurrection. Grant to us that we might not miss that important message of both warning and great love and salvation from You this day. Amen.