Growing up in or around church, you likely heard a few of these phrases:
Jesus is our lifeline.
Jesus is our safety net.
Jesus is our ticket to heaven.
Jesus is our example.
Jesus is our friend.
Jesus is our helper.
As I was thinking about these phrases the other day, it struck me as to how inadequate most of them are.
Do you notice how in many of the descriptions, the focus is on our life? We focus on the lives we want to live. Then if we face challenges along the way, we can call on our lifeline to see that we make it through. Our friend will be with us, not letting us walk through life alone.
I’m not trying to sound harsh, but we need to understand Jesus is so much more than any of these phrases would suggest.
Jesus said, “The thief enters only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came so that they could have life—indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest.” (John 10:10, CEB)
Again, the temptation here is to set our dreams out in front of us and consider how Jesus will come along and help me have my best life now. We need to pause here and consider what Jesus came to do.
You were made to image God, to love as He loves. However, because of Adam and Eve, we are born into this world in sin. So much so, the Apostle Paul in Romans 5 says Jesus died for us, while we were His enemy.
Jesus wants you to be with Him, to be a part of His family. In order for this to happen, He had to give His life for our sins. He carried our sins and shame to the cross, taking the punishment we deserved.
He died and was buried in a tomb.
We know this isn’t how the story ends, as Jesus defeats death and the power of sin, rising to life again!
6 This is what we know: the person that we used to be was crucified with him in order to get rid of the corpse that had been controlled by sin. That way we wouldn’t be slaves to sin anymore, 7 because a person who has died has been freed from sin’s power. 8 But if we died with Christ, we have faith that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ has been raised from the dead and he will never die again. Death no longer has power over him. 10 He died to sin once and for all with his death, but he lives for God with his life. 11 In the same way, you also should consider yourselves dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6, CEB)
When we say Jesus came to give you life, we are saying He makes you a new creation! You are no longer the sinner that you once were. Sin no longer has power over you. You have been made new to see the world as Jesus sees it and to love as Jesus loves.
Listen to verse 11 again, “In the same way, you also should consider yourselves dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus.”
Jesus is transformational! He came to make you new!
Blessings,
Pastor Matt