And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:14-15 (NKJV))

How stubborn are you? Are you unwilling to alter something that you know God wants you to change? Many in our society are stubborn – unwilling to yield or turn from the direction they’ve chosen.

And we’re not the only ones who are stubborn. God referred to the Israelites as “stiff‑necked” (see, e.g., Exodus 32:9 (NKJV)). I love how that gives us a visual of our stubbornness. When a person is stiff‑necked, she is unwilling to turn her head from the course she wants to take.

We see this play out when the Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years. At one point, the Israelites complained about the manna (the bread from heaven) that God provided for them to eat. They called the bread “worthless” and said they “loathe[d]” it (Numbers 21:5 (NKJV)).

“So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.” (Numbers 21:6 (NKJV))

Then, in His graciousness, God directed Moses to make a serpent and put it on a pole, so “everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live” (Numbers 21:8 (NKJV)). Moses did so. And anyone who was bitten lived “when he looked at the bronze serpent” (Numbers 21:9 (NKJV)).

Such an easy remedy, right? You would think all of them would have looked at the serpent. After all, the only thing they needed to do was open their eyes and turn their heads.

Yet, the Bible doesn’t say that all of them looked and lived. If they refused to look, they died. If anyone was stubborn, it would cost him his life.

The same thing is happening today. The penalty of sin is death (Romans 6:23). And all of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). So, each of us is facing death.

But God has given us a remedy too. He loves us so much that He “gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 (NKJV)). Jesus was lifted up – like the serpent on the pole – so anyone willing to look to and believe in Him will have eternal life (John 3:14-15, 36).

Jesus paid the penalty for our sins when He died on the cross. It’s a free gift. One only needs to accept and open the gift that’s been given. “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13 (NKJV)).

So, how stubborn are you? Are you willing to turn your head to look to Jesus and believe in Him? I’m ashamed to say it took me 37 years before I was willing.

If you haven’t already, turn your head and look to Jesus. Believe in Him. Don’t be stiff‑necked. Don’t be stubborn. Your stubbornness could cost you your life.

Instead, believe in Jesus. Accept the free gift of salvation He’s given to you. Yield to Jesus. And then walk by faith with Him into eternity.

Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash