We all love gifts
Stop to consider – what one thing would you most like to have now, if no limits were placed on the fulfillment of your dreams and desires. But maybe before getting too far into that, we should look at what the Bible identifies as God’s greatest Gift to the world – Jesus. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16, NKJV.
Who is Jesus? The Bible tells us that He is God. Matthew 1:23 says, “‘Behold a virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated ‘God with us.’” See also John 1:1-3,14.
How long has Jesus existed? He has existed from the days of eternity, for He is truly the self-existent God, along with the Father and the Spirit. It’s in the Bible, see Micah 5:2. “But you Bethlehem . . . out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” Note: Jesus was born in Bethlehem, see Luke 2:8-15. The night before He was crucified, Jesus prayed to His Father. “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (John 17:5, NKJV). See also John 17:24 and 10:30.
Why did Jesus come to this world?
He came to seek and to save the lost In Luke 19:10 Jesus said, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (NKJV).
He came to die for our sins. I Corinthians 15:3 says, “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (NKJV). Note: Jesus foresaw all the sufferings that He would have to experience in order to be our Saviour. But He was willing to endure it all for our sake because in His great love for us He does not want us to be lost. For a really vivid description of what Christ was willing to endure for us, see the prophetic portrayals of His sacrifice Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53, written 1,000 years and 700 years respectively before the cross. Truly Jesus was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). This means that even before we were created, He was totally committed in His heart to be our Saviour, if the need should arise. His death was completely voluntary for the sake of our salvation. Could there be any greater love than this? See John 10:18; 15:13,14.
He came to bear witness to the truth. Jesus declared in John 18:37, “For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.” Note: The truth is important because only the truth can set us free and change our lives so that we can honor God and benefit others. See this explained in John 8:32-36; 17:17-20.
He came to destroy the power and works of Satan. 1 John 3:5,8 states that Jesus “was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. . . For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil.” See also Ezekiel 19:16-19 and Hebrews 2:14.
He came to bring us into an everlasting relationship of love with God the Father. God’s word says it in 1 Peter 3:18, NKJV. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.” In Ephesians 2:4-7, we find that “God who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-7, NKJV).
Though the Bible makes it clear that Jesus is God, did He really become a man when He came to this earth – a real human, and not just a make-believe version of one? He became truly human for our sakes. It’s in the Bible, Romans 1:3. “Jesus Christ our Lord . . . born of the seed of David according to the flesh.” And, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law” Galatians 4:4, NKJV. We know from this that Jesus really understands our nature and our needs, because He experienced human life as you and I do, and knows exactly how to help us in every way. See this more fully explained in Hebrews 2:14-18 and Romans 8:3,4.
How does God want me to relate to Jesus? He wants me to receive Jesus as My Savior and Lord. The Bible says so in 1Timothy 2:3-6 (NKJV). “God our Savior desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Jesus Christ, who gave Himself a ransom for all.”
Does it make any difference if I choose another way of salvation and enlightenment? In other words, is Jesus really the only one who can give me eternal life? The Bible says that He is our only Saviour in Acts 4:12. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” John 14:6, see also 10:1.
How do I know that Jesus wants to save me and be my friend? Jesus invites us, “Come to Me all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.” “Whoever is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.” “I will certainly not cast out anyone who comes to Me.” Matthew 11:28; John 7:35; 6:37 (MLB). But Jesus does even more than this, He comes to us and stand’s at our heart’s door and lovingly knocks and pleads for entrance into our lives. He says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone listens to My voice and opens the door, I shall come into him and dine with him and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20 (MLB). Note: Dining with Jesus means that He will share Himself with us; he will make His loving presence and His truth food to our souls. See John 6:51-56,63.
Won’t you respond to His invitation today, right now? If you do, it will bring great joy to your heart and to all of heaven. Jesus tells us, “I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10, NKJV). Respond to His drawing love now, without hesitation, for God’s word says, “Behold, now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2, RSV).
In confirmation of your decision to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, you could offer to God a prayer like this: “Dear Father in heaven, I believe that You sent Jesus to be My Savior. I love You for this and want to accept Your wonderful gift of His salvation. Please give me grace to repent of all my sins and teach me how to open my heart to You more widely each day, so that I can follow Jesus and be changed by His power to live as Your child. Help me to learn more about You every day from Your word, the Bible. Thank you for hearing and answering this prayer, in the name of Your dear Son and my Savior, Jesus. Amen.”
Here is a promise for you to claim as a newly born again person: “To all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12,13, RSV).
Read about the Salvation that Christ offers us for free!
