Hope Forever

There is a picture that hangs on the wall in our living room.  I first saw this picture when I was a boy, first learning about Jesus at church.

The picture shows Jesus as a shepherd. He’s leading a flock of sheep alongside a quiet mountain stream, and in His arms a little lamb, looking up at his shepherd as the shepherd looks lovingly at him.

And I said, “That’s me! I’m the lamb in Jesus’s arms!”

And, I'm that lamb, not just then as a six-year-old boy but on the darkest day of my life. Oh, how I needed my Shepherd. And He was there. 

Jesus offers safety and security no matter what storm comes your way. Jesus gave me my life in the first place. Speaking of Jesus, the Bible says we were “created through him and for him.”  (Colossians 1:16)

Mark Twain said there are two important days in a person’s life: the day he was born and the day he finds out why.  

The answer to “why” is right there in the Bible in six words: created through him and for him. 

Problem: I added three words of my own: living for me. It’s that sin thing the Bible talks about, which isn’t breaking some religion’s rules. It’s me hijacking my life from the One who made it.

We’ve all done it. God says, “All have sinned."  The ultimate destination of a life I run is a forever away from God.

But the only way I could ever belong to the One I was made for was to have the penalty paid for the hijacking of my life. And the penalty for hijacking is death—and in this case, the spiritual death of forever separation from a God who’s perfect.

Jesus did the dying for the sinning I had done against Him. When Jesus let them nail Him to that cross, He actually “suffered for our sins . . . He died for sinners to bring you safely home to God."

Nobody ever loved me like that. 

Jesus blew the doors off death and walked out of His grave under His own power. So when He says, “Whoever believes in the Son [Me] has eternal life," I know He can deliver on that promise. 

He’s standing there with open arms. But it’s hard getting our attention until one of life’s hammers hits.  That’s when we lost sheep start to realize we’re lost. 

You can belong to God from today on if you will tell Him with all your heart something like this:

"Lord, I’m sorry for running my own life. I’ve been living for me. I resign as of today. I believe your Son, Jesus Christ, paid my death penalty when He died on the cross. I’m turning from a life of ‘my way’ and I’m putting all my trust in Jesus Christ to erase my sin, to give me a relationship with You, and to get me to heaven. Lord, from today on, I’m Yours.”

That is hope that is stronger than every hurt, every tragedy, every loss, even death itself. 

Because it’s not just hope for now. It’s hope forever.

If you want to know more about a personal relationship with Jesus, life’s one “unlosable” love, visit…

http://ronhm.in/ChatAboutJesus  

You can chat online, send a text message, or call to talk with someone.

Learn more about the book, Hope When Your Heart Is Breaking, by Ron Hutchcraft --  http://ronhm.in/book