The Author of Life

            Life is the most precious gift from God.  In fact, God created us to live forever.  But our sin ruined God’s plan and we lost our life (Gen. 3:22-24).  We became separated from God (Eph. 2:12) making our lives meaningless, worthless and hopeless.  Somehow we had to overcome our sins and be rid of them so that we could live again.  But how?  Someone had to live a sinless life and be willing to die in order to pay the price.  But who was perfect enough?  And since we’ve ruined our ability to do this, who would agree to do it for us?

            According to the Apostle John, Jesus of Nazareth, who was actually God Himself (John 1:1-3), was willing and able to defeat sin for us and restore the life we had lost (see Rev. 5:1-5).  Therefore this life that we so desperately need can only be found in Jesus (John 1:4).  Look at 1 John 4:9: “God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.”  And 5:11-12: “God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who has not the Son of God has not life.”  See also 5:39-40 where Jesus tells the Jews that they were looking in the wrong place for life.  It wasn’t in their Scriptures.  It was in Him!  John even tells us that his purpose for writing his gospel was so that we might “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name” (20:31).

            Jesus Himself said that his reason for coming to this world was to provide life to those who believe in him and to make a way for us to return to the Father (John 3:16; 14:6).  My favorite verse concerning Jesus and life is John 10:10 where He says that the purpose for his arrival was so that we may have life and have it abundantly.  In other words, if we take advantage of the salvation he has made available to us, he can provide us with a bountiful life that is to be enjoyed now and on into eternity in Heaven.

            Our life is worth something.  It is worth a great deal to God.  He went to a lot of trouble to save it from certain death.  What He desires is for you to do whatever is necessary to get into Jesus as soon as possible and get rid of the sin that is killing your soul.  He created your life with meaning and purpose.  Help Him fulfill that goal in your life by living for Him from now on.

 

Doug