Why Are You Here? 

Have you ever wondered what wild series of events has led to this world that we live in? Overall, it seems to be working pretty well — gravity keeps us grounded, water keeps us hydrated. However, it’s painfully clear that the world is not without problems. Events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, economic crises, racial injustice, riots and protests — remind us that the world is far from perfect. But has it always been this way?

You see when God created the world, it was perfect. Natural disasters, sickness, death, poverty, war, etc., were not a part of His original design. And when God created this world – from the ocean depths to the furthest galaxies – He was setting the stage for His final masterpiece: you. Therefore, your life is no accident. You are deeply loved and valued by God – created on purpose for a purpose. That purpose is to know God intimately and to work in partnership with Him to fulfill the individual purpose and plans He has for you on the earth today. There is nothing more meaningful than this.

So What Happened? 

God is perfectly good and perfectly loving – and perfect love is never controlling.

This is why God gave us a free will, which at its end is the ability to either choose Him or reject Him. Sadly, we all have made the choice to reject Him, insisting upon living life our own way.

Yet this decision created a great and terrible gap between us and God.

To separate from Him is to separate from the source of life itself – and the natural consequence of separating from life is death (Romans 6:23).

This is ultimately why brokenness exists within the world today and even within our own hearts. 

Who is Jesus? 

Coming to earth as God wrapped in human flesh,​ Jesus – whose very name means “God saves” – lived the perfect life we should have lived. He was willingly tortured and murdered and nailed to a wooden cross in our place – allowing Himself to be torn apart so that our lives could one day be made whole. The Bible says that Jesus gave His life as a ransom for us. The word “ransom” is defined as “a sum of money demanded or paid for the release of a captive.” Ironically, we were captives to our own pride and selfishness – yet we still mattered so much to God that He died, so we could be free from the consequence of rejecting Him. 

But not even death itself can defeat God. Three days after His death, Jesus came back to life. He is alive today and He loves you immeasurably more than you could imagine! Because of what Jesus did, you are now free to choose or reject Him again – but He pleads with you this time to choose Him, to choose life.

How Do I Choose Him? 

Imagine your heart has a door. It’s a door only you can open – ultimately you choose which relationships you allow to influence your life, and which ones you don’t. Jesus says that He stands at this door of your heart and He knocks – He asks if you will let Him come in. The harder truth to swallow is that He asks for your surrender; in order for Him to give you His life, you must be willing to give Him yours. Being saved from your own self destruction is a gift – but the greatest gift He gives us is Himself.

In Him, we can experience His unconditional love and become free to love others in this same way. In Him, we can discover and know life’s meaning and our individual purpose. In Him, there is hope for the future because He offers the gift of a never-ending life of abundance in His presence. But the beauty, meaning, and joy that comes from knowing God and having a personal relationship with Him, is the greatest gift and treasure of all. Since He Himself is the treasure — this is not a gift you can earn. You must receive Him by faith — which is simply believing in who He is and what He’s done for you.