By: Lisa Wilmore
Scripture: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. That whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life ( John 3:16).
My Dear Friends,
Once again, it is a blessing to come to you in thoughts and words at the opening of this New Year. I am grateful to be alive and given another opportunity to share the goodness of God and what he has done for us. What better way to begin this new year than with a message of how much God loves us.
He sent his only begotten son to die for the world, which means that every one has an opportunity to be saved and live forever-only if they believe.
Can you really grasp in your mind and heart the love that he really has for us? His love is so gigantic until we cannot comprehend in our finite minds of his love. Paul writes in the book of Romans, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Generally speaking, God demonstrated how much he loves us by sending his Son, Jesus, to die for us.
Additionally, we have heard or perhaps made statements such as “God loves me better than I love myself” and “God loves you more than you can imagine”. These are true statements. In fact, while we were wretches, he sent Jesus Christ to be a substitute for us. Yes, it should have been us-beaten, scorned, and nailed to the cross. However, Jesus took on the sins of the world and died so that you and I may live. Thank you, God, for loving me and the world!
This past fifth Sunday, I attended Pleasant Star Baptist Church in Winnsboro, Louisiana, pastored by Rev. Deacue Fields, Jr. Rev. Fields asked the congregation an amazing question which caused us to meditate on the reasons for Christ’s death. He asked the question, “Why did Christ have to die?” Consequently, quietness serenaded the church building while the congregation sat in deep thought.
Pastor fields answered his question by saying that Jesus died to take the penalty for our sins. In essence, he took our punishment so that we would not have to be punished. Because Jesus gave his life, if we believe in him, we are granted a relationship with the Father, our holy God.
If you do not know him, today is the day to personally respond by trusting Jesus as your Savior, the one God gave to the world.
