|
How
do we claim eternal life? What makes us as sinners worthy to enter
Eternity? Our heavenly Father fulfilled for us what we could not do for ourselves. Without Jesus Christ, there would not be an eternal life for us unworthy and sinful humans. Philippians 2: 7-8 reads "... He made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself and became obedient to death -- even death on a cross!" For unworthy us!
Jesus
gave up His life willingly.
Found in the Gospel of
St. John 19:29-30,
the Scripture reads, "knowing
that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture
would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am
thirsty.” A jar of wine
vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge
on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.
When He had received
the drink, Jesus said, “IT IS
FINISHED.” With that,
He
bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
When Jesus uttered these words, He was declaring that the debt
of sin owed to God was wiped away completely and forever.
Jesus had
given up His earthly life so that mankind could receive the gift
of eternity. Jesus became the redemptive power to bear the sins of the
entire world. We find these words in the Gospel of St. John
19:30. Through the misery and insults He endured, He
had accomplished the salvation for mankind and opened the door
of God's Kingdom for all to enter.
But how can we wash away our sins?
It
is the precious blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us,
washing away our sins. Without this sacrifice of cruel death, we would not be able to
enter God's perfect Heaven. The sufferings of Christ on
mankind's behalf is because He loved us that much. Romans 3:
23-26 tells us
"all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
and all are justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
God presented Christ as a
sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be
received by faith. He did this to demonstrate His righteousness,
because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed
beforehand unpunished."
And
again in Romans 6:23: "The
wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord"
The things of this world are not eternal. They only satisfy us for a short time, and many of us do not realize that this earthly pursuit of sinful actions can only leave us hungry, for we have taken a few steps away from our Lord. This earthly pursuit that we try to embrace will leave us wanting and it is only when we stop and pray, letting the Holy Spirit remind us that all we need is Jesus and only He can fill our needs.. No matter what we embrace and cling to here, we will not be able take it with us when we die. Ask yourselves, is your faith strong enough to turn away from sin? Do you act on what you believe as a Christian? When earthly temptations come to us, remember the cross and the price our Savior paid for you and for me. Without Jesus Christ, I am nothing. I am an unpolished stone along the sidewalk of life without luster or shine. A half written song. A book with no ending. An unfinished person without hope of redemption or eternal life. If He were not in my life I would plod my way through endless circles seeking what I could not find on this earth such as peace and solace, hope and comfort, help and identity. A sad being with a seemingly disposable life. Because I have Jesus in my life, I know He is always there through every facet of my stay on this earth. Through the sorrows human existence gives as well as the pleasures. Through the barriers and obstacles faced and the successes achieved, He is there to applaud every effort. He is there when I worry about things happening to me, my hope when I think I cannot get something I need, my friend when I am friendless, my confidante when I want to confide, my protector when I am frightened. He calms me, makes me understand when I am wrong, makes me strong under adverse conditions and speaks to my soul when I need to hear His guidance. He is my mighty fortress against my enemies. And He holds the key for the door to His Eternal Kingdom. Yes, He is the center and the joy of my life. There is a scripture where Jesus speaks to John in Revelation 1:18: "I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." Our Savior, Jesus Christ has broken the chains of death and rose triumphant from the grave. As we shall when He comes to take us to the Father.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
!
|
||
| THE HEALING |
