Somebody sent this tale to me seven years ago. I found it in a saved inbox folder.
A little boy was selling newspapers on the corner in the cold of winter. The little boy was so cold that he wasn't trying to sell many papers. He walked up to a policeman and said, "Mister, would you know where a poor boy could find a warm place to sleep tonight? You see, I sleep in a box around the corner and down the alley and it's awful cold at night. Sure would be nice to have a warm place to stay."
The policeman looked down at the little boy and said, "You go down the street to that big white house and knock on the door. When you are greeted say John 3:16, and she will let you in." So he did what the policeman said. He walked up the steps and knocked on the door, and a lady answered. He looked up and said, "John 3:16." The lady said, "Come on in, Son." She sat him down in a split bottom rocker in front of a great lit fireplace, and she went off. The boy sat there for a while and thought to himself: John 3:16...I don't understand it, but it sure makes me warm.
Later the woman came back and asked him "Are you hungry?" He said, "Well, I haven't eaten in a couple of days, and I guess I am, a little. The lady took him to the kitchen and sat him down to a table full of splended food. He ate until he could not eat any more. Then he thought to himself: John 3:16...Boy, I sure don't understand it, but it sure makes a hungry boy full.
The woman took him upstairs to a bathroom and drew him a bath in a large clean tub. As he soaked in the warm-hot water, he thought to himself: John 3:16...I sure don't understand it, but it sure makes a dirty boy clean. You know, I've not had a bath in my whole life. The only bath I ever had was when I stood in front of that big old fire hydrant as they flushed it out.
The lady came in and took him to a bedroom and tucked him in a warm feather bed. She pulled the covers around his neck, kissed him goodnight and turned out the lights. As he lay in the darkness and looked out the snowy window, he thought to himself: John 3:16 ...I don't understand it, but it sure makes a tired boy rested. The next morning the lady came and took him down to the same big table full of food. After he ate, she took him to the same big old split bottom rocker in front of the fireplace and picked up a big old Bible. She sat down in front of him and looked into his young face. "Do you understand John 3:16, she asked gently. He replied, "No, Ma'am, I don't. The first time I ever heard it was last night when a policeman told me to say it".
She opened the Bible to John 3:16 and began to explain to him about Jesus. Right there, in front of the lit fireplace, the boy gave his heart and life to Jesus. He sat there and thought: John 3:16... I don't understand it, but it sure makes a lost boy feel safe.
I don't understand how God was willing to send His only Son to die for me, and how Jesus would do such a thing. I don't understand the agony of the Father and every angel in heaven as they watched Jesus suffer and die. I don't understand the intense love for me that kept Jesus on the cross until the end. I don't understand it, but it sure does make life worth living.
John 3:16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
