Why did Jesus come? Why is His coming important to folks like you, living two thousand years after He came into the world? I’d answer that question with one word—“life.”
My life was a shadow
All of us are looking for life. But we don’t quite know what it is that we are looking for. We have a sense within us that there is something more, some greater purpose, than to be born, to eat, to sleep, to learn, to work, to love, to play, and then to grow old and die.
And there is. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10), and “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies” (John 11:25). Jesus even said one time that when we hear his word and believe, we cross over from death to life (John 5:24).
That’s what happened to me. I look back now, and I see that my life was a shadow until I began to follow Jesus, “in Him was life, and that life was the light of men” (John 1:4).
I always “believed” in God, then I began to “know” God
A lot of people think of eternal life as a kind of possession—as if it was a commodity that you could add to your list of assets, “I have a four-bedroom house, a great job in the city, a Lexus and eternal life.”
But eternal life is not an asset; it is a relationship. When Jesus prayed for us the night before he died, he said, “This is eternal life, that they may know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). I always believed in God, but when I started following Him I began to know God.
Eternal life begins when you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and start to follow Him. Eternal life begins now for all who will come to him, “our fellowship is with the Father and the Son” (1 John 1:3). The amazing thing about this life is that it never ends. I followed Christ for 60 years, then the time came for me to face death. It was like walking through a curtain, and on the other side, I was in the presence of Jesus.
Take hold of the life that is found in Christ!
I have been there for the last two thousand years of your time, though nobody is counting up there. The joy is unspeakable. I’m not allowed to tell you about it, and even if I was, you wouldn’t understand.
All the talk and anticipation up here is about the moment when He will come for you. Then the whole church, in heaven and on earth, will be joined together, and we’ll be with the Lord forever, “He who has the Son has life and he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 1:12).
This is how I put it at the end of my gospel. Its my life message, “These are written so that you may know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31).
This message is adapted from a first-person message by Pastor Colin in the character of the apostle John.
This week's Scripture: The Word became flesh, and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory...John 1:14
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This LifeKey is based on the message “John’s Story,” by Pastor Colin S. Smith on December 23, 2001, from the series “christmas stories.” Colin currently serves as Senior Pastor of the The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He is committed to preaching the Bible in a way that nourishes the soul by directing attention to Jesus Christ.
