There is no greater ambition in this life than to be more like our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Can you possibly imagine that one-third of the Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit would love us so much that He would agree to come to this earth for the sole purpose of making sure we had a pure pathway to eternal life in Paradise? John 10:18 tells us He was not forced to do so, but as for His human life, “No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father.” (ESV – all emphasis is mine)
There are many verses in God’s love letter to us that give us reason to look to Jesus to be our Shepherd, Savior, Redeemer, and absolute best friend. Starting with Matthew 11:29-30, “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
John 14:21; “Whoever has My commandment and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus said the two greatest commandments were, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it; you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Our eternal Salvation is based entirely on what our Savior did for us on that cruel cross at Calvary, and we are not saved through any works or deeds that any human can come up with. That’s made very plain in Ephesians 2:8-9 which states we are saved by grace through faith, and not by any of our own works.
The absolute requirement we have is to receive and accept the free gift our Savior gave us, believe that He truly died for our sins, and that, as a human, He never committed even one sin of any kind. We believe He was raised from the dead on that third day to conquer sin and death for all who will call on Him to be their Savior (Romans 10:9-13).
Jesus told His disciples in John 15:12-13, “This is My commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down His life for His friends.” He emphasized the commandments that He had given earlier and personalized them for His disciples. These apply to all who become a part of His precious flock.
For all who have Jesus in their hearts as their Savior, Paul tells us in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Going further to Romans 8:8-9, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.”
Paul explains in Romans 8:11 that “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Jesus explained this in John 14:16; “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper to be with you forever.” This is the Holy Spirit, who is also referred to as the “Restrainer” in 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7.
Paul further tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17-19, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”
In 1 John 2:2-6, “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not ours only but also the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. Whoever says, ‘I know Him’ but does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.”
Finally, in 1 John 3:2-3, “Beloved, we are God’s children now and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure.”
There are those who would say that Jesus could not possibly love everyone. They do not grasp that our Savior truly loved everyone then and loves everyone today for our immortal souls. There were actions of many that He did not like, such as all that the religious leaders of His day did to twist and tweak the perfect word of God. He still was ready to save them if they had repented and would have called on Him to be their eternal Redeemer.
Our Savior knew that more would accept the ways of the world than would accept Him (Matthew 7:13-14). However, the Romans 10:13 verse ends the A-B-Cs with, “All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
In that regard, I would like to end with an “Invitational Hymn” that was written by Fannie Crosby. It’s appropriately titled “More Like Jesus.”
1.) More like Jesus would I be; let My Savior dwell with me. Fill my soul with peace and love; make me gentle as a dove. More like Jesus while I go, pilgrim in this world below; poor in Spirit would I be; let my Savior dwell in me.
2.) If He hears the raven’s cry, if His ever watchful eye marks the sparrows when they fall, surely He will hear my call. He will teach me how to live, all my sinful thoughts forgive; pure in heart I still would be; let my Savior dwell in me.
3.) More like Jesus when I pray; more like Jesus day by day. May I rest me by His side where the tranquil waters glide. Born of Him through grace renewed, by His love my will subdued. Rich in faith I still would be; let my Savior dwell in me.
For all who will receive, accept, and call on Jesus today, your eternal residence will be with Him in Paradise in a home prepared for us by Him personally (John 14:1-3).
For those who take their last breath on this earth without Jesus, Revelation 20:11-15 will be their forever destiny. No other options exist, no matter what any false prophet will tell you.
God loves all of us (John 3:16-18) and has given us all the information we need to be with Him forever. It’s in the true versions of the Holy Bible. He will force no one to accept His Son but will gladly add anyone who does to the Savior’s precious flock. No one has sinned so greatly that the blood of Jesus cannot reach them and cover their sins.
It’s a free-will choice that only you can make for yourself. Choose wisely – Choose Jesus today!
Come, Lord Jesus!
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