This overall was a good read that made me feel as though I was in the conversation. On page 62 they end the discussion of Jesus had to die and the last line is so important. "He Himself readily endured death in order to save man." Wow, our Jessu Christ was ready, it was no suprise, it was no last minute save. It was a plan made centuries before it happened. That is true love and true sacrafice. One that mankind will never see ever again. His death outweighed the infinite sins commited and to be commited. It is also said that " it was certainly neccessary for the redemption that Christ effected to benefit not only those who were alive at the time, but others as well." Mankind in its entirety was covered with mercy and forgiveness.
This makes me question if I am ready to do whatever God calls me to do. If I am to be like Christ then I am to be ready for the plans He has for me. We want to be missionaries and go out and serve the community but are we as a church ready?
You have a great point. God's plan to redeem mankind is so incredible. I have thought about a question that came up in class recently. If God knew we would sin, then why would he create us in the first place? I believe the answer is in his character which consists of the true love and true sacrifice that you talked about. God created man knowing that he would demonstrate his great love by sending his only son to die on the cross in our place. It was part of his plan before he even created time. In his love, he knew that he would sacrifice himself for us. This completely blows my mind. It is truly amazing.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your final question, I think it's process with the church to truly be prepared. I think that is why we are the community we are. to build each other up as brothers and sisters in Christ. We are to go out and spread the Gospel in a way of reckless pursuit for God. That mindset will allow us to open our hearts to be prepared to go out as the church.
ReplyDeleteYour last question is such an important one. God has called all that follow Him to share the Gospel wherever they are. I have heard it said that "we are either missionaries or imposters". We must be ready to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives and be obedient to our calling as Christians.
ReplyDeleteWe can never hope to make the same kind of sacrifice Jesus made for us, and thanks to Him, we don't have to. It is such a incredible thought that I can't really express my feelings on it in words.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, watch your spelling and grammar though. It's the details that separate high school from professional writing.
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