Do you know what it’s like to wait for something that you really want? Like when you order a package online, and then you constantly check its status, hitting refresh again and again until you finally see that truck pull into your driveway. Or when you have been marking days off the calendar in anticipation of something you are really excited about, like a concert or a birthday, or Christmas.

Years ago, I decided to surprise Tonya with expensive tickets to an off-Broadway play. Tonya and I didn’t have much money, but just this once I decided to splurge. I bought them in secret and locked them in a drawer, and then I forgot about them. Completely. On the night of the play, we were watching TV in the living room, oblivious.

People on planet earth had been watching for Jesus ever since THE BEGINNING. God promised in Eden to send a Savior, and over the years He repeated that promise. Be ready. The Jews were the keeper of that light, but they stopped x-ing days off the calendar. Many Gentiles believed in God, but they stopped looking, too. When Jesus arrived, there just were not many people to welcome Him.

That was then, this is now, but the picture is similar. People in Jesus’ day saw His words and heard His words. They saw how He lived. They should have trusted Him, but they crucified Him. Today, we have the advantage of the Bible, and the have the testimony of many others whose lives have been radically changed. We see in these verses that anyone who receives Christ will be re-born into the family of God. But just like those in the past, we must choose to accept that.

Light is shining in the darkness. Will you receive it?