You belong

Jesus did not come to earth solely to forgive our sins; he came to heal our sinful nature and create us anew. He doesn't force us to accept his love; but since he loves us so deeply, it is his dearest wish that we turn to him and find true life in him. Jesus was born, lived, died, rose from the dead, and ascended as our Lord, Redeemer, Saviour, and Advocate to sit at the right hand of his Father, having delivered all mankind from their sinfulness: «Who shall condemn? Christ Jesus is here, who died, yea more, who also rose, who is at the right hand of God, interceding for us” (Romans 8,34).

However, he did not remain in human form, but is fully God and fully human at the same time. He is our Advocate and our representative who intercedes for us. The apostle Paul wrote: “He [Jesus] wants everyone to be saved and come to know the truth. For there is only one God and only one mediator between God and man: that is Christ Jesus, who became man. He gave his life to ransom all people. This is the message that God gave to the world when the time came (1 Timothy 2,4-6 New Life Bible).

God has declared in Christ that you belong to him, that you are included and that you matter to him. We owe our salvation to the perfect will of the Father, who is steadfast in assimilating us into his joy and the communion he shares with the Son and the Holy Spirit.

When you live a life in Christ, you are drawn into the fellowship and joy of the life of the triune God. This means that the Father receives you and fellowships with you as He does with Jesus. It means that the love Heavenly Father once and for all manifested in the incarnation of Jesus Christ is not second to the love He has always had—and always will have—for you. That is why everything in the Christian life revolves around the love of God: «God's love for us became visible to all when he sent his only son into the world so that we might live through him. What is unique about this love is that we did not love God, but he gave us his love» (1. John 4,9-10 Hope for All).

Dear reader, if God loved us so much, then we should simply pass that love on to one another. No man has ever seen God, but there is a visible sign by which we can recognize him. Our fellow human beings can recognize God when they experience our love because God lives in us!

by Joseph Tkach