Believe

The message of Christianity is simple enough to summarize in a few paragraphs but challenging enough to demand trust at the core of our hearts. It is an invitation to believe. It is a story, really, about the world’s true king and his sacrificial love and wonderful victory.

The Creator of heaven and earth crowned creation with a humanity as his friends and royal rulers of the world. It was our joy to worship and obey him. It was our job to transform the world into an irresistible home for the world’s king.

But the first humans, and every one since then, chose to worship creation rather than the Creator and obey their own law not God’s. We want a Godless life, and so God gave us what we wanted: death and an eternity without his life and love.

But God would not abandon us or his plan. In his love, he sent his eternal Son to be a human, Jesus of Nazareth. God became man. Jesus showed us what life is like in God’s kingdom. He healed the sick. He loved the loveless. He forgave the broken. He celebrated with sinners. He worshiped and obeyed his Father. He bore a Roman cross to pay for the sins of the world and strip evil of its power. He rose on the third day, dealing a death blow to death itself. He ascended to heaven in order to rule with justice and peace and love. He is the world’s rightful king. He is bringing all things under his authority, and one day he will return in power and glory to judge the living and dead. A new heavens and earth with dawn and God himself will make a home with a renewed humanity.

Today, God calls you back to himself. Turn from worshipping and obeying other lords. Confess your brokenness to him. Trust in Jesus’ cross and resurrection. Enter the waters of baptism and you too will receive the promised Holy Spirit and enter new life, new creation. Restored as God’s royal rulers, you can show your world life in God’s just and loving kingdom. Believe the good news.