What God Has Done

"'The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything'" Acts 17:24-25

The God described in that passage is pretty awesome. Think about it: it says he's "Lord of heaven and earth." That means he created and is in absolute control over every galaxy, solar system, planet, the earth, each and every living organism, all humans that have and ever will live, ...and the list goes on forever. A Being like that probably wouldn't make the effort to pursue a relationship with humankind, especially since each and every one of us has sinfully turned away from our Creator to pursue our own pleasure, right? Well, surprisingly, this God has made quite a large effort to have a personal relationship with each and every one of us, an effort that required him to sacrifice himself, his own glory and honor. Why did he do that?

God was grieved when we turned away from him in sin. (And if you think you haven't turned away, think again. Unless you've lived every single second of your life with the motive of glorifying God, you're a sinner. See I Corinthians 10:31) He was grieved because the penalty for sin is death, and the spiritual definition of death is eternal abscence from the presence of God. So the Creator of the Universe did the unthinkable: "...God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." In other words, God came to earth in the form of a human, lived a normal human life (normal, except for the fact that he NEVER sinned, he was completely pure), and then took the punishment WE deserve by dying, allowing himself to be crucified on a cross. Next, he conquered the power of death once and for all time by conquering that which causes death; namely, sin! How did he do that? He rose himself from the dead!

Now, when God looks on me, he no longer sees all the wrong I've done against him. Instead, he sees the perfection of Jesus (the name God took on earth). Because of what Jesus did for me, I get to spend eternity in the presence of God in Heaven, instead of eternity in Hell. And God has made this salvation available to all, it is granted through faith in what He has done through Jesus. If you're interested in God's salvation, read the Bible. I recommend starting with the Gospel of John and Romans.