"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:32 ESV)
Jesus draws people to Himself. When He walked on this earth in a physical body, the perfect union of grace and truth was found in a human being, and everywhere He went He drew crowds of people who were hungry for a touch from God.
Lifted up on the cross, we see God's unfathomable love as He dies for sinners, and it draws us to Him. "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8 ESV) If Jesus does not draw us to Himself, we will never come to Him. Why? Because we have a sin problem that is bigger and deeper than the sins we commit.
Every human being is born with a sin nature that has warped the very image of God in us. We have a fatal bent toward sin - toward disobedience and selfishness and rebellion against the God who created us for Himself. We want to call the shots. We want to rule our own lives. The only time we really want much of God is when we are desperate because we are faced with something too big for us to handle on our own. This brokenness leads directly to the sins we commit, and it keeps us separated from the One who loves us most.
We do not become sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners.
The Bible tells us this original sin in us is so depraved that we cannot save ourselves. Total depravity means every part of us is affected by the sin nature we inherit from our ancestors, back to Adam and Eve. Our thinking is warped. Our feelings are unreliable. Our will is compromised. Depravity does not mean there is no good in us. Sinners retain the capacity to love our families, to aspire to greatness and to strive for excellence. But it's all tainted by the selfishness of sin.
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags. (Isaiah 64:6 NIV)
God sees the heart, and knows how our sin nature underlies our good deeds with the selfish need for recognition, and how often we act nice to get something for ourselves.
"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
Thankfully, God acted to draw us out of ourselves and free us to choose faith in Jesus over faith in ourselves. Jesus was lifted up. He draws people to Himself. He drew me to Himself in my childhood through parents who took me to Sunday School and Bible School, even though they were not regular church goers themselves. He drew me to Himself through my Godly girlfriend, who is now my wife. He drew me to Himself through an active youth group that taught the Word of God and loved us teenagers when we were awkward and obnoxious.
We call the grace that draws us to Jesus prevenient grace. The word prevenient means "that which goes before". It is the grace that works in our lives before we find new life in Christ. It is the grace that makes us aware of our need for a Savior. It is the grace that opens our eyes to the truth of our sin and the possibility of salvation. It is the grace that brings someone into our life to love us unconditionally and to teach us the truth about who Jesus is and what He did on the cross to save us from that sin.
Sometimes prevenient grace takes the form of a Gideon Bible in a motel room at the very moment a desperate man is ready to take his own life. Prevenient grace may take the form of a believing teacher or coach to encourages an awkward kid. God may use stumbling across a Christian radio station like KLOVE to draw someone to Himself who is far away. Sometimes prevenient grace looks harsh - like a terminal diagnosis or the death of a loved one that shakes us and causes the desperation that finally looks to God for answers and comfort and peace.
Faithful Christians who live for Jesus, and who love God and other people freely and joyfully can be powerful agents of prevenient grace, drawing other people to Jesus by the winsomeness of their love and service and sacrifice. When people see Jesus in us, they are drawn to Him.
"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
I think Isaac Watts has captured it well in the lyrics of his song, "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross":
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.