Inflatable Pool

John 3:16-17

Watch on YouTube

This last summer, my youngest daughter was given this inflatable pool. And it wasn’t just an ordinary plain old inflatable pool, it was pink with a flamingo head on it, and there was even a tail on the other side. And then at night this pool would light up. You see, flamingos are my daughter’s favorite animal. And so when she got this gift, she loved it. She was so excited about it, she couldn’t wait for me to air it up and fill it with water so that she could get into that pool and play. She even gave that pool its own name like it was her own flamingo pet.

That flamingo pool may not have been a very expensive gift or seem like much, but to her, this was the best gift she could have received all summer long. It’s resulted in many hours of fun. Not just for my youngest daughter, but all of my kids. God has given us a wondrous gift that’s even better than any gift someone in this world could ever give us. It’s a gift that we needed, a gift that we did not earn, and we certainly don’t deserve. God just gave it. Jesus said,

For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17)

What a gift! To many in this world, that doesn’t seem to be a very good gift at all. It doesn’t look very valuable. They don’t see a need for it. In fact, many don’t even see Jesus as a gift at all.

But you and I, we see it differently. In this gift that God has given to us we rejoice. It’s a wondrous gift and we may celebrate its giving at Christmas time. But our joy is continuous every single day throughout the year. There’s nothing better that our God could ever give to us than to give us Jesus, who came into the world to save the world. You see, God doesn’t want anyone in this world to suffer the punishment of sin that they rightly deserve. He wants to save them. And so that’s why he gave this gift to the world that he gave his son. Think about that for just a second.

God loved us that much that he gave his only begotten son to suffer the punishment that your sins and mine deserve. And because God has given us Jesus, his only begotten son, we have forgiveness of every single sin. We are saved from their curse and their penalty. We have an eternity of life in heaven, in the paradise of heaven, all through Jesus. And all because God gave us this wondrous gift. Holding on to this gift in our hearts by faith every single day. Its giving and the gift itself causes great joy to fill our hearts. And we love God’s gift so much because of what we have in Jesus. It’s a gift worth holding on to and a gift worth sharing with the world.

Amen.