How hideous that snake on the pole! It was a reminder of the pain inflicted by the snake's bite and even more a reminder of the cause of the snake's biteâ€"sin. Now we, too, look in Lent at something initially hideous. Christ on the cross is horrible to look at since his suffering is what we deserve to suffer and a reminder of the greatness of our sin and guilt. But only at the cross do we even begin to grasp the depth also of God's love. He himself turns our eyes to that tree and gives us the balm of healing that lasts into eternity. In the Bible light is often a metaphor for truth and joy. Therefore Laetare! For this is the truth that brings pure joy. There is no other balm for sinners. Jesus is not just one religious leader among many. He is the only Savior and the only possible Savior. Those who seek another will feel the full fury of God for rejecting so great a salvation, so loving a Savior. John 3:14-21 (NIV edition 1984) 14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the des! ert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. 16"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. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. 19This
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