Jesus gives liberty and justice for all

When my daughter was 3, I took her with me to a small Christian book store to get a greeting card. After finding the one I wanted, I couldn’t find her. I asked several people if they had seen her. No one saw where she went. I called the police. As soon as I started giving my report, my daughter came out from behind a fake fireplace. I quickly put her on my shoulders, paid for the card, let people know she was found and went to my car, relieved that I had found her. When I lifted her off my shoulders, I felt something sticky on my hair. Then I noticed some caramel candy dripping down onto her dress. Now I knew why she had been hiding.

I communicated that it was stealing to take something that didn’t belong to her. As her parent, I took responsibility for her actions and paid for the candy she had stolen.

As our creator, Jesus took responsibility for the sin of the human race. The consequences of sin is death. He accepted the consequences and died for us. Jesus also lived a perfect life so he could earn eternal life for every person. “For (God) made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him,” 2 Corinthians 5:21.

This means we all are free to live with God now and forever. The choice for everyone is simple: Do I want to be reconciled to Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:19, 20) and let him be my Savior and Lord. Or do I want to be the boss of my own life and cling onto sin. Those who say yes will live forever with God. Those who persistently say no will perish, reads John 3:16.

Understanding this good news enables us to see every person as our brother or sister, for when Jesus redeemed us he “rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son.” Colossians 1:13. It breaks down prejudice in our hearts and elevates every person as valuable, no matter who they are or what they have done. In the light of this good news, God’s followers are called to be ambassadors to invite everyone to be reconciled to God so they can experience the riches of his amazing grace and transforming love.

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich,” 2 Corinthians 8:9 reads.

This article was written on behalf of the Moses Lake Christian Ministerial Association.