Time for Grace-December 21, 2023

Time for Grace-December 21, 2023

John 1:1-3

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him, everything was made, and without him, not one thing was made that has been made.

Dear Heavenly Father,

If someone makes a particular item, it only makes sense to ask that person how to repair it if it breaks. Jesus was not only the builder but the creator of the universe, so it goes to reason He would be the one to restore it.

Thank You for giving us John’s gospel; he explains who Jesus was and why He had to come. John called Him the Word, that which was with You from the beginning; He was God. John starts his Gospel with “In the beginning,” taking us to Genesis when You created the universe with Your Son and the Holy Spirit; those words, “In the beginning,” were the exact moment You created all time, space, and matter. John tells us Jesus created everything. The Word said, “Let there be…” and it came to be. As John wrote—by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit— “Through Him everything was made, and without Him, not one thing was made that has been made.”

Since Jesus was the Word and He created us, it makes sense that when we destroyed your creation, Jesus was the one who restored it. Jesus lived in His creation and became our brother to restore what we broke; He was the only one who could fix it.

However, in our human pride, we think we can somehow make the repairs ourselves. Ideas like: If we live a good enough life, then You will love us just as we are. Or, by comparing ourselves to others, we think we need to look better than them. Or, if we lived better today than yesterday, we could overcome all our wrongs. None of our repairs could ever undo the damage from our sins; each sin separates us from You.

So Jesus lived His life perfectly, then credited us with his righteousness. Our sins had to be paid for, so He suffered our punishment upon the cross and defeated sin, death, and the devil for us. By faith in the Word, your Son, we have eternal life and salvation because He has removed sin and restored us to You. May our reaction to this news be to love You and share the Word and forgiveness with those who do not know Jesus so that they, too, will believe in Him and have eternal life. Amen

Written through Pastor Roger Emmons

Jesus completed all sin’s repairs to this world through His perfect life and innocent death. This world restoration is delivered as a gift by believing and trusting in Jesus. By faith, you are restored to God, where salvation and eternal life are yours, and you become an heir to heaven.