Hello everyone, I just wanted to take a couple moments to go over a few things that are central in our lives. With little baby Ivy on the way soon, I have really been thinking about the purpose of our lives and what we are called to do while we are here. Life is so short and we are called to make a difference with the time we have been given. This is one of my favorite passages of scripture and I hope some of my thoughts will provide encouragement for some of the bigger things in life!
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."
-Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
In the Bible it is explained that God created man in His image to live in perfect obedience to His will. Adam and Eve had perfect communion with God in the garden of Eden and enjoyed a sinless, perfect relationship with Him. However, satan was also present in the garden and he tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit that God commanded them not to eat. This event is referred to as "original sin" or the "fall of man." The bad news from this story is that the human race was infected with the cancerous disease called sin. Everybody from that moment forward, has sinned against God in one way or another. In the scriptures God says that the only way we can get to Heaven is to be 100% holy and to live up to His standard of perfection (Matthew 5:48). This however, is an impossibility because we have all fell short of the mark of perfection. This might seem bleak and hopeless. The question I logically had to ask myself a few years ago was: "then what can we do to earn salvation to make things right with God?" The answer I found was and is: NOTHING! There is hope, however, and the story ends positively. Read on, because the hope is explained in the next few thoughts!
About 2000 years ago, God created a miracle and sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to earth. This was the greatest event in human history. Jesus Christ, while on earth, lived a perfectly obedient life to the commandments of God. With every word, thought and deed he lived a 100% sinless life. God knew that since we cannot save ourselves by works, He needed to send a savior to act on our behalf to be a "propitiation" or "substitute" for us. Jesus, in the greatest act of love this world has ever witnessed, went to the cross and died the most painful and gruesome death for us as sinners. He took the whole weight of the world on His shoulders for us! Romans 5:8 explains this very point: "
8but
God shows his love for us in that
while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
If you haven't ever watched the "Passion of the Christ" movie, I would highly reccommend it to get a picture of what Jesus did for us and the physical and emotional pain he suffered from His sacrifice.
Jesus lived a perfect life, died on a cross and rose again on that 3rd day defeating death and sin once and for all. He now lives in Heaven and is the great mediator between God and man. The work of salvation is now completed by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The question that begs to be asked now is: "what does this mean for me?" The simple answer is faith in His finished work. All God calls us to do now is to have faith that Jesus paid the penalty on our behalf and trust that the work of salvation has been completed through Him. No matter what you have done or where you have been, Christ paid the lofty price for ALL sins! You can now be freed from the bondage of sin and the hopelessness that has separated us all from God. This is the greatest news of all time and Romans 10:9-10 and 5:1 say it best:
"
9because, if
you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and
believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. -Romans 10:9-10
"
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." -Romans 5:1
I have now clearly explained the good news the Bible refers to as the "Gospel." There are two things that now can be done with this information.
1. We can act like the Bible is not true, go about our lives and act like none of this matters; or
2. We can admit with a humble heart that we have fallen short and trust God at His word and believe that faith and trust in Jesus is the answer that leads to eternal life.
Everything changed in my life after I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I still make many mistakes daily, but the questions of eternity have been answered and I am now filled with hope and joy no matter what my circumstances are. Life went from black and white to technicolor! I was instilled with a purpose to make a difference in this world and I knew that my actions would be used to bless the lives other people. I think if we are honest, when our lives are almost over, we all would like to look back and know that our time here was used for good and that there were many others who were affected positively by our actions and example. That is called leaving a legacy. We will never know the ripple effect that one life can leave when it is lived well!
These things are heavy on my heart because the Bible is very clear that Jesus will be back again soon and He will come for all those who have believed in Him as the savior of mankind. This faith and trust will allow you to live in Heaven forever with God as He originally intended. But a lack of faith or indifference to these truths will result in the opposite. You don't have to agree with me, but I urge you to dig in for yourself and find out why you believe what you believe. That is exactly what I did and I am now just sharing the results of what I found. The questions of eternity are the most important ones to be asked in this life. Will you leave a lasting legacy? Will you be ready for that day when He returns? Eternity is a long time to be wrong!!
God Bless, Adam and Mo
