What we do after a huge disappointment proves or disproves our faithfulness. Moses has been informed that the dream of his life will never materialize. He will never be permitted to enter the land of promise. After suffering with the Israelites’ stubbornness for four decades, he is now going to be prevented from journeying to Canaan (20: 12). Many have quit on the Lord following lesser disappointments. Moses, however, not only remained faithful but even provided his most memorable testimony to our Lord and His Cross – the bronze snake in the wilderness. (21: 4 – 9). He failed to present Christ once but never again!
When seeking to help Nicodemus understand the nature of the new life, Jesus chose the story of Moses lifting the bronze snake to make His point. “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 will have eternal life. For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (Jhn. 3: 14 – 16). John 3 is, of course, one of the best known evangelistic passages in our Bible. There, the greater-than-Moses told a noted Jewish leader that he could enter heaven by the way painted by Moses on an Old Testament canvass.
The message of the snake could not be clearer – look and live! The bronze illustrated the just judgment of God against sin. The snake on the pole said in a way all could understand that God identified Himself with the people at the very point that threatened them. That’s the message of the Cross – God’s judgment poured out on the One Who identifies with us at the point of our deepest need. Just like the ancient Israelites we are all dying for the same reason – sin – but a look at the Cross spells “LIFE” for all who see the salvation offered there and claim it by faith.
When we suffer, do we remain soul-winners? When in pain, do we continue to present Christ? It’s not what we do when all is well but what we do when the bottom drops out that demonstrates our true fidelity to Christ and His commission. Can we be counted on to be faithful when all around us is failing? Moses was faithful to the finish not only in his witness but his walk and work as well. His failure was fleeting but his faithfulness was fixed. How about you? How about me? Are we faithful after the disappointments of life? Real faithfulness is.