Why did Jesus come to earth?
I grew up in church, and by the time I was in high school I knew the “Gospel” message well. We’re sinful people, and Jesus died for our sins, so if you ask Jesus to live in your heart, you’ll get to be in Heaven with God when you die. Or some of us church-kids learned John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” That’s the Gospel message, right? It’s all about not perishing and having eternal life. Or at least that’s what I’ve been told. The problem is, that’s not quite what I see when I read about Jesus in Luke and John’s accounts of his life.
In John 10, Jesus says that while the thief, our enemy, comes to steal, kill, and destroy, Jesus comes so that we can have life abundantly. In Luke 4, Jesus says that He comes to set captives free and give sight to the blind. Jesus gave everyone who came to Him abundant life, by healing them physically and emotionally. We don’t see Jesus sit down with people after He heals them and say, “Now, if you pray this prayer then I’ll come live in your heart and you can be in heaven when you die.” No. He brings restoration and healing to their lives. He calls on them to follow Him.
God made this universe, and when it got screwed up, God found a way to actually become part of it and still be God. God came to earth in order to restore it. We are included in that restoration. And Jesus did that so that we could have the overflowing amazing life that He planned for us. God made us in God’s image. We have this divine spark. The life spent following Christ is also the life spent uncovering that divine spark. And yes, there is a moment or a transition period when we begin to follow Christ intentionally. But the message of Jesus is not about that one moment or that transition - it’s about what happens afterwards!
The way I see the Gospel affects how I see my spiritual journey. To me, sin is just junk that covers up the image of God in me. The actions I take each day are not just actions which impact me - they are actions which either help or hinder God’s desire to restore Creation. This doesn’t mean that I don’t feel guilt when I sin, or that I don’t need to address sin in my life. It just gives me a slightly different perspective on it.
How do you define the Gospel, or the message of Jesus, or the message of Christianity? And how does your definition affect how you deal with sin and how you live?
- Written by Elaine Bayless