Know Him: Growing Closer to Jesus

Published 5/1/19

Read John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Reflect

• Do you believe that Christ paid the penalty for your sins?

• Do you believe that you can have eternal life through Him?

• What steps can you take to grow closer to Jesus?

Someone who is willing to die for us is certainly someone we can be confident in. Fact: if you were the only person on the entire earth, God still would have sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for your sins. That's love. That's a God in whom we can have complete confidence. Christ died on the cross for us so we could experience salvation--forgiveness for our sins. And He wants us to go out into the world and share that love with everyone!

God is perfect, and His kingdom is perfect. He loves His children, but He can't allow sin to exist in heaven. He could force us to seek forgiveness for our sins, but that wouldn't be true love. God is not a puppeteer. He has no interest in controlling our decisions. He wants us to follow Him because we love Him. God demonstrated His love for us while we were still sinners. He didn't wait until we got our act together. While we were steeped in sin, His Son willingly went to the cross so that we could experience salvation--forgiveness for our sins.

Christ was a perfect sacrifice; He had never sinned. He was pure, yet He took on our sins as His own so we could experience forgiveness from God. What a gift! But the gift isn't ours until we actually accept it.

Pray

Lord Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God and that You willingly died for my sins. This is mind-boggling, and I'm so sorry that I've disobeyed You and have tried to run my own life. I understand that You want to help me live in obedience to You. I commit my life to You. Guide me, teach me, help me to know You better.