The irresistible offer of Jesus

We are too important to God. Two thousand years ago a historical, momentous, concrete and irrefutable fact occurred: God broke into the history of humanity in the person of his Son Jesus and history changed and humanity changed as well. The fight of his life was against sin, evil and death. The power of the three was completely destroyed at the cross. His victory was our victory, for he did it for us. The Good News for the unconverted world of today is not what God will do in the future in the human concert for their salvation, but rather, it is founded on what He has already done.

If the world were aware of what He already did, perhaps we would not be contemplating the chaos of a world that is lost because it cannot or does not want to see. Many people die without knowing Jesus. Another good part of the planet has not even heard his name for the first time. Jesus' offer is irresistible to the one who accepts it; if you give him your life, he gives you his. He says: here is my life, it is yours now, I give it to you if you receive it with faith, because you only have to trust me. I'll take care of all your things. Give up your life and surrender to me, deny yourself, join me. God's Word imparts incredible hope to us: “But whoever is united with the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17).

It is the living Word that speaks: we are one spirit with him. Will there be a fuller blessing? I don't want to be absolute, but in my opinion, I don't think so. What does it mean to be united to Christ and to be one spirit with him? The Bible is full of beautiful statements that confirm this confession. Union with the Lord imparts liberation to us; Redemption is a sovereign act of God that allows us to free ourselves from the bondage of sin's bondage and tears the veil of our darkness. Ponder the following verse: "He delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son" (Colossians 1:13).

Hallelujah! Now we live united to him, we are one spirit with him and as if that were not enough, we have been transferred to his kingdom. Do we deserve such a great privilege? We no longer have to cling to our identities based on past failures and successes, our profession, our outward appearance, skills and abilities, or our human deficiencies and weaknesses. The kingdom of Christ is not compatible with any of this. His kingdom is open to all who open their hearts for Him to rule their lives. We are a new creature in Christ and the new creature is a new creation and the new creation has no past because it is completely new, begotten in the blood of the Lamb of God. Our past is now on the cross of Christ and nowhere else. He provides us according to the glorious riches he has in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). We will lack nothing.

And the deceiver of this world will invite us to deny our identity (to be Children of God), he will try to tempt us to continue living in the flesh, being in Christ and being new creatures. That is the work of the evil one: to try to get us to do things his way (the world's way) and not God's way. Do you remember when Christ was led into the desert 40 days to be tempted by the evil one? (Luke 4: 1-12). On two occasions he told Jesus - the underlining is mine- "... if you are the Son of God tell this stone to become bread ... if you are the son of God throw yourself down from here ..." (throw yourself from the pinnacle of the Temple that the angels sent by God will take care of you and sustain you). That is exactly what the devil is trying to do to us, that we doubt who we are, that we deny our blessed identity, that we fail him, that we be unhappy in the kingdom of the King of Kings.

The joy of the Lord is us, his people. He delights in his children and as a victorious warrior wants us to walk in the spirit because we are one in him. He said so and I believe him. God bless you!