Though Jesus came in to the world as a baby, His mission was the cross of Calvary. He refused to be crowned an earthly king. Instead He knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane and surrendered His will completely to the Father’s plan for redemption. The perfect Son of God became the Lamb of God, sacrificing His life to pay for our sins, so that our sins can be forgiven. Isaiah 53:5 tells us “by his wounds, we are healed.” By His death, we are given new life.
This new life does not happen automatically. John 1:12 asserts, “To all who believed and accepted Him (Jesus), He gave the right to become children of God.” Believing in Jesus is not just mental assent. It is the firm conviction that Jesus is the Son of God; that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Accepting Jesus means that one personally invites Jesus to be your Savior and Lord, recognizing and repenting of your own sin. That is the beginning of new life with Christ.
That new life or new birth is just the beginning of a relationship with Jesus. The rest of life is to be learning to trust Him and obey Him, becoming more like Him in every area of our lives.
Let us use this Easter season to meditate on what Jesus did for us. The hymn “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” expresses this beautifully.
“When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride.
See, from His head, His hands, His feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down; did ere such love and sorrow meet or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small; love so amazing, so divine demands my soul, my life, my all.”