I have now to ask, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean, to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death. Can you consent to all this, for the sake of him who left his heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion, and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with the crown of righteousness, brightened with the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Savior from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?
-Adoniram Judson
Letter to Ann Hasseltine’s father asking for her hand in marriage, 1811
Monday, May 3, 2010
My story, simplified.
It's not a myth, it's a reality. Jesus Christ has changed my life forever. Many of you know that I'm pretty passionate about my relationship with Jesus Christ. It wasn't always that way.
I have tried living for myself and living for what I want, and I have failed miserably. Through the process of finding self-gratification and happiness in the world's values, I put myself in danger and I caused pain for many of those who love me most. I have done great wrong by my standards and by God's standards. But despite the wrongs I have committed against the Creator of sunsets, mountains, and oxygen molecules, he has loved me and saved me.
The "rules" that I see presented in the bible ARE NOT OPPRESSIVE LAWS. Instead, they show me just how far I have fallen short of the holiness and righteousness, the perfection, that God called me to at the creation of the world. God knows what's best for me, and when I sin, I rebel against His love and judgement. I decide that I know what's best for my life. Because I have fallen short of God's standard, I am separated from God.
Imagine God as He is portrayed in the bible: fully good, fully loving, fully holy, and fully just. Can God really be just if He says that anything goes? No! Therefore, in payment for my sins, I deserve death. Romans 6:23 says that "the wages of sin is death." In payment for the sins I have committed, I stand on a death sentence. There is no way for me to make up for my sins, just as a murderer cannot bring his victim back to life.
But here's why God is all loving. He knows what a sinful man I am. He knows the wrong things I have done inside and out. Knowing this, and knowing that I cannot make up for my own sins because God is a holy God, His heart was broken for me. God desires a relationship with me.
The all-powerful Creator of the Universe, Jesus, came down to Earth to be humiliated, beaten, and painfully crucified by the people He had loved and made. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us-- for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree'-- so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:13-14). Through this means, Jesus died in my place. He took the death sentence for me. Now, because I accept Jesus as God's son and decide that I want to live for Him, I am reconciled to God and am living in His love daily. All of my wrongdoings are forgiven, and I am free to live happily in Jesus' love.
That is what GRACE is. God didn't need me, He still doesn't. But He loves me so much that He was humiliated and murdered so that He could be with me. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."
Now, I'm set free to live a life in Jesus. Not only that, I have an eternity to dwell in God's love and peace after I die. Now, I follow the commands of the bible through Jesus' power, not because I have to, but because Jesus loved me first and I want to show Him that I also love Him.
Some people wonder how a loving God can be so exclusive and hateful as to send people to Hell if they don't believe that Jesus is the only way to God. But, as I have seen, He isn't exclusive or hateful! It's just that this is the way it has to be. Jesus had to die for us in order for us to be reconciled to God, and God cannot and will not accept any other payment for our sins. So, before I accepted Jesus into my life, I was faced with two choices: live miserably for myself, find temporary gratification in my sins and have to pay my death penalty, or live for Jesus, be completely happy and fulfilled, and rejoice that Jesus paid my death penalty so I can have life. I chose the latter.
If you're reading this, Jesus loves you. I know that God seems impossible in light of the evil in the world, but the God's got answers for that in the bible. There's peace through Jesus, and hope that even when things are awful, God is in control and is working toward our good. There's hope in eternal life! Give Him a chance. He's looking for you.
I have tried living for myself and living for what I want, and I have failed miserably. Through the process of finding self-gratification and happiness in the world's values, I put myself in danger and I caused pain for many of those who love me most. I have done great wrong by my standards and by God's standards. But despite the wrongs I have committed against the Creator of sunsets, mountains, and oxygen molecules, he has loved me and saved me.
The "rules" that I see presented in the bible ARE NOT OPPRESSIVE LAWS. Instead, they show me just how far I have fallen short of the holiness and righteousness, the perfection, that God called me to at the creation of the world. God knows what's best for me, and when I sin, I rebel against His love and judgement. I decide that I know what's best for my life. Because I have fallen short of God's standard, I am separated from God.
Imagine God as He is portrayed in the bible: fully good, fully loving, fully holy, and fully just. Can God really be just if He says that anything goes? No! Therefore, in payment for my sins, I deserve death. Romans 6:23 says that "the wages of sin is death." In payment for the sins I have committed, I stand on a death sentence. There is no way for me to make up for my sins, just as a murderer cannot bring his victim back to life.
But here's why God is all loving. He knows what a sinful man I am. He knows the wrong things I have done inside and out. Knowing this, and knowing that I cannot make up for my own sins because God is a holy God, His heart was broken for me. God desires a relationship with me.
The all-powerful Creator of the Universe, Jesus, came down to Earth to be humiliated, beaten, and painfully crucified by the people He had loved and made. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us-- for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree'-- so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:13-14). Through this means, Jesus died in my place. He took the death sentence for me. Now, because I accept Jesus as God's son and decide that I want to live for Him, I am reconciled to God and am living in His love daily. All of my wrongdoings are forgiven, and I am free to live happily in Jesus' love.
That is what GRACE is. God didn't need me, He still doesn't. But He loves me so much that He was humiliated and murdered so that He could be with me. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."
Now, I'm set free to live a life in Jesus. Not only that, I have an eternity to dwell in God's love and peace after I die. Now, I follow the commands of the bible through Jesus' power, not because I have to, but because Jesus loved me first and I want to show Him that I also love Him.
Some people wonder how a loving God can be so exclusive and hateful as to send people to Hell if they don't believe that Jesus is the only way to God. But, as I have seen, He isn't exclusive or hateful! It's just that this is the way it has to be. Jesus had to die for us in order for us to be reconciled to God, and God cannot and will not accept any other payment for our sins. So, before I accepted Jesus into my life, I was faced with two choices: live miserably for myself, find temporary gratification in my sins and have to pay my death penalty, or live for Jesus, be completely happy and fulfilled, and rejoice that Jesus paid my death penalty so I can have life. I chose the latter.
If you're reading this, Jesus loves you. I know that God seems impossible in light of the evil in the world, but the God's got answers for that in the bible. There's peace through Jesus, and hope that even when things are awful, God is in control and is working toward our good. There's hope in eternal life! Give Him a chance. He's looking for you.
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