Jesus

He’s the most influential person in the history of the world. And, I can honestly say He’s the most influential person in our marriage. In our wedding ceremony, we pledged our devotion to Jesus first and to each other second. I used to think this was just something cheezy that “religious people” said at weddings. But about 11 years ago I accepted my humanity, my imperfection, my inability to control my life and I acknowledged my sinful nature before a holy God. And that God introduced me to His Son Jesus.

I began to read and learn about God’s perfection, His holiness, His love for His creation, and yet His inability to be in the presence of evil.  I began to accept that when I looked at God’s standards compared to mine, His made more sense.  As in, they were actual standards. Mine…well, they fluctuated based on whatever was good for me at the time. It’s wrong to lie, unless of course telling the truth would be harmful to me. It’s wrong to gossip about others, unless it’s a really juicy story I just can’t keep inside {and especially if the person I’m gossiping about will never find out about it}. It’s wrong to explode in anger, unless I’m really, really pissed off and the other person deserves it. It’s wrong to cheat on my boyfriend, unless my needs aren’t being met. Standards? Right!! In reality, I’d created my own messed up law for my life, and it was a disaster.

So I decided to consider God and His law as truth, and I came to understand that something had to be done in order for me to have hope for a future with a holy and perfect God. I already understood and accepted the corruption within me. He couldn’t be in my presence. A price had to be paid. And I couldn’t pay it. My work was already proven to be flawed. And the consequence was an eternity without God.

And then one day it was clear—Jesus had already paid it. God came to earth in the flesh, as a baby, starting out just like each of us. But he took a different path. He lived perfectly. He was without sin. Not temptation—he was definitely tempted—but He did not sin. And when the appointed time came, He willingly went, like a lamb to slaughter. He endured the harshest beating a man has ever survived and extreme ridicule at the hands of the humans He had created. And then He died an excruciating death on the cross in our place.

“It is finished,” He said at the end of his earthly life. Because He’d done what no one else could do—pay the penalty we owed to God for our sin. After existing for eternity with God, Jesus was separated from Him. None of us can imagine how awful that would be. There’s nothing on earth that compares. But that wasn’t all. Death didn’t stop Him. He rose again on the third day. And He did it to demonstrate God’s power and goodness. He did it to make all things new. To redeem a broken world. To give us a chance at life, to the full.

Jesus’ life, death and resurrection fulfilled countless prophecies written hundreds of years before He walked this earth. Our calendar is based on his life and death. And many of His followers are alive today with stories of redeemed lives and hearts that have turned from stone into flesh. I’m one of them. This is not just a tale. He was not just a good teacher.

Jesus is the reason I have any hope my marriage will survive much less be good. And some days—in those most difficult of times—I wonder how people endure it without Him.

I know. It sounds like crazy, zealous, religious stuff. I used to think that, too. But if there’s any part of you that wants to know more, I would be honored to introduce you to my Savior. Just email me: merritt {at} livesimplylove {dot} com.

Photo credit: © genotar1 – Fotolia.com

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Tagged as: Jesus, Marriage, Sacrificial Love, Trust