Devotion
Look Up
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.' - John 3:14-15”
Of all the pictures Jesus could have chosen for the cross, he reaches for a bronze snake on a pole.
In Numbers 21 the people of Israel grumble in the wilderness, venomous snakes move through the camp, and people begin to die. God tells Moses to make a bronze snake and lift it on a pole, and anyone who looks at it will live. That is the whole requirement. Not a ritual, not a fee, not a waiting period, not a demonstration of worthiness. Look and live. A dying man does not have to be prepared to look. He only has to turn his head. Jesus takes that story and says, that is what my cross is going to be. Lifted up, in plain sight, for anyone.
Practice
We keep trying to arrive at God already cleaned up. But nobody in that camp got the poison out first. They looked.
Prayer
Jesus, I have been staring at my own mess, measuring whether it is small enough for you to accept. Today I am looking up instead. You were lifted up for people exactly like me. I am not bringing you my progress, I am bringing you my eyes. Amen.
This Week’s Message
This devotion follows along with this week’s message.