Sometimes I forget to be bold with the gospel. Sometimes I miss an opportunity to tell others about the greatest Gift they could ever receive. And sometimes...sometimes I let people carry on with their lives without asking them if they've considered whether they're going to spend eternity in heaven or hell. The other day it occurred to me that I've never posted a message on my blog about salvation. I write this blog for Christians. I write it so that I can encourage my fellow believers to live out their identity as a child of the King. But what if you're reading this and you never thought much about Jesus before? What if you're reading this and you're even, possibly, hostile to Christianity? It would be wrong of me--a tragedy in fact--to not take a moment to stop and tell you of a story that changed my life. Because that's really all I want to take a moment to do. I don't want to be one of those Christians that shoves religion down your throat. I don't want to give you a list of all the reasons why you're a sinner and need saved, or even offer you a neat, highly-practiced "sinner's prayer." Nope. I just want to tell you a story. The greatest story I've ever been told. The greatest of all stories. The story of how Someone loved me so much, He couldn't imagine eternity without me, so He did everything He had to do to have my heart forever. This is the story of my Jesus. A very long time ago a Story greater than any other story we have ever heard began to unfold. A Story of beauty, temptation, sin, danger, death, rescue, redemption, and most importantly…love. This Story was like none other and it would change the world forever. It would change me forever. A Hero came down to a fallen world ravaged by sin and destruction to save a people that did not even know Him. A people that would only laugh and turn their backs on Him. Death would be the only way to break the cycle of death and separation in the world and He would pay that costly price. All for love. Because He loved His people too much to be separated from them forever. It was a love that felt our pain and healed our hearts. Love that knew our temptation and provided an escape. Love that was so deep nothing could stop it…not even death. We all long for it. That love that is so unconditional nothing can change it. A love that won’t leave or desert you if you make a mistake. A love that will keep loving and being faithful, even when you are not. A love that only One can ultimately give to us. We search for it everywhere. We search for it in our families, in our friends, in romance. We search for it in another person. We search for it in our dreams and in our hopes. We search for it in our jobs or in our money. But nothing can satisfy that desire to be loved completely and unconditionally. And yet we look at the Story told for centuries and choose to look past it or ignore it. We don’t listen to the Story that could change our lives because we don’t believe it. But the best part of this Story is that it is real. It is a part of our history and it is a part of our present. It is the love we long for so deeply but can never seem to find elsewhere. You see, the Hero of our Story is Jesus Christ. With a love that only Jesus could possess, He willingly became the Hero of our Story because it was the only way to save us. And as our Hero, He would have to give His life and die. Jesus came to earth as a little baby, born in a humble stable, to give each and every one of us life. He lived a life of a true Hero, perfect and sinless. He taught, He healed, He changed lives. And when the moment came for Him to lay down His life, He did it with you in mind. Yes, you. Our Story changed a long time ago in a beautiful, perfect garden when one woman and one man decided to disobey God’s plan and His instructions. This one act of disobedience changed everything forever. Separation from God was the cost. And there was no way for us to get back to Him on our own. We were lost until Jesus came. We have all sinned. We have all done our thing, gone our own way. No amount of good deeds would help us. No other ways could save us. You may be hurting right now. You may not trust anyone. Everyone and everything you have ever loved may have left you. Your heart may be shattered in pieces around you. But even when everyone else leaves or hurts you, Jesus will always be right there to pick you back up, look into your eyes and tell you how much He loves you… “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” ~John 3:16-17 “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” ~Romans 8:38-39 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” ~Romans 5:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” ~Ephesians 2:8-9 “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” ~1 John 4:9-10 God’s love is unconditional. He will love you no matter what. He will never leave you. His love will never stop. Forgiveness for your sins is just a prayer away. God’s arms are outstretched to you right now. The gap between you and God can be filled by His love for you if you just ask. There's no fancy way to do it. No string of perfect words to get you in. You don’t have to do anything to earn His love. You can’t do anything to earn His forgiveness. It is a gift and it is a gift that is being extended to you right this very moment. All you have to do is believe and accept. Welcome to the greatest story of your life.
Bella Morganthal
10/26/2017 01:15:34 pm
Thank you so much, friend <3
Anna P.
10/27/2017 11:27:39 am
This IS the greatest story of all!!! Thank you for posting this! Priscilla, I agree, I pray that others who need to know this story will see this.
Bella Morganthal
10/30/2017 11:56:26 am
Thanks, Anna! <3
Bella Morganthal
10/30/2017 11:56:46 am
Yes, indeed! :)
Bella Morganthal
10/30/2017 11:57:00 am
Amen <3
Olivia Bell (aka Livy)
10/29/2017 08:26:16 pm
This is so amazing, Bella, this truly is the greatest Story ever told! Thank you for such a wonderful post! :D
Bella Morganthal
10/30/2017 11:57:19 am
Thank you, Livy love! <3 Comments are closed.
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