The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting
life. John 3:16 NKJV
Christianity is unique, in the sense that the crux of it is not a way of
life, but revolves around a single event in human history Jesus
coming down from heaven to die on the cross, and in doing so,
wiping clean the sins of those who accept his gift.
You may ask, what is sin? And what is this gift? And who is this
God? And why in the world would this God die for us? Did I even
ask him to? Let me start from the beginning.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
God is the creator of all things. Before anything existed, he was
there. He is the sovereign Lord of the whole universe and all things
bow to his authority. He is everywhere at the same time, allpowerful and all-knowing. The bible then proceeds to tell us that he
created man. He created Adam, and from Adams rib, created Eve.
God created man to have a personal relationship with him just as a
father is to a son. He also created man to rule and reign with him.
He placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and permitted them
to do anything, save eating from the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil
Then, sin happened. The devil, in the form of a serpent, deceived
Eve to eat of the fruit, telling her that she could be like God. Eve
then gave the fruit to Adam. That was the first sin. From that time
on, the sons of man have always been in rebellion against God. In
that sense, that is what sin is, to rebel against Gods ways and
follow our own.
Because they were now a sinful people, they could no longer come
close to the perfect God, just as there is no darkness in the light.
God cast them out of Eden. As people grew numerous and spread
throughout the world, they sins grew more and more wicked.
God looked upon a broken world, fallen from what they were
created to be, and loved them. They were in the clutches of the
enemy and he would fight from their freedom. He would pay the
price for their souls. The important thing to note is that because
God knows all things, past and present, he knew even before he
created them, they would fall away in sin. He knew right from the
start that as a result, he would pay for their sins in the most painful

way imaginable, and yet somehow, he considered these sinful

people worth creating.
So into a hostile world, God himself came down, not just in the
likeness of a man, but being in the very nature man, walked among
the very people he loved so dearly. Jesus was tempted by
everything we face, yet did not succumb to sin. Jesus healed the
sick, cast out demons and did many miracles. Jesus amazed people
with the authority of his teaching and had a unique ability to grasp
the human condition and speak right into peoples hearts. How
could he not? This was the creator after all. This was God.
But this was not why he came. After 33 half years of walking this
earth, the worlds greatest love story wrote its most climatic scene.
Jesus accomplished the very mission that which he came to earth
for and fulfilled the prophesies of old that spoke of a savior. That
day on the hills of Calvary, all because of love for a broken
world and a broken people, Jesus endured an excruciating death
on the cross. And in doing so, Jesus became the atonement for all
sins. Jesus was our willing scapegoat, the one who suffered the
penalties of our sins, and purchased us from damnation.
For Christs love compels us, because we are convinced that one
died for all, and therefore all died -2 Corinthians 5:14
Because he died for us, his death was reckoned onto us as the
death of our sinful nature and bought us a right standing with God.
The angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that
you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has
risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then
go quickly and tell his disciples: He has risen from the dead and is
going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him. Now I have
told you. Matthew 28:5-7
On the first Easter Sunday, three days after he died on the cross,
Jesus rose from the dead. Because he died, we died, and because
he now lives, we live a new life as well, free from the bondage of
sin.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The
old has gone, the new is here! -2 Corinthians 5:17
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is
not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8

Therefore this is the gift and the promise of God, that to him who
puts his faith in Jesus, Jesus will make his home in our hearts and
live his glory through our lives.
After he rose from the grave, he appeared to his disciples numerous
times and entrusted them the mission to build his church and to
proclaim his gift and the good news of salvation throughout the
world.
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been
given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all
things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age. Amen. Matthew 28:18-20
Thus this is the call, purpose and mission of God for us in our life.
That just as we have been saved, we want to proclaim this same
message throughout the world.
Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground
and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces
many seeds. John 12:24
Jesus spoke of himself as the kernel of wheat that dies to itself and
produces an abundant harvest that is borne out in the church we
see today.
Yet he was also challenging us to be that same kernel of wheat
choosing to die to itself. And to the one whose heart beats for the
purposes of God, Jesus had this promise:
Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates
their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves
me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My
Father will honor the one who serves me.
Let us find our life and live it to the full. Amen.