A Beautiful Easter

I wish I could communicate how beautiful God is.

But if I consider a beautiful piece of art, I would never attempt to describe it. I would just show you the art itself.

So how can I show who God is? Maybe the same way that he shows us who he is: through stories.

This blog is full of stories. 
It is full of stories of how God has worked in my life, and it is full of stories of what God has given us through his word.

It all hangs on the same thread. And it all points to one man. His name is Jesus. And he is so beautiful.

The Gospel is so beautiful.

As we enter into Easter weekend, I pray that the Gospel never ceases to amaze us, that it never ceases to bring us to our knees. I pray that it never becomes commonplace and that we are never causal about its implications.

God made the world, and it was good (Genesis 1). And just two chapters later, man sins and sets a precedent for all man after. (Genesis 2, Romans 3:23) Everyone has sinned and falls short of God’s glory. You. Me. Everyone.

And the gap where we fall short is not a short gap because the one we sin against is so great. He is Righteous. He is Holy. He is I Am.

And he is Just. And without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22).

This is where it should end – our death, our punishment for our sins, our eternal debt to a great God.

But instead, God willingly satisfies his own wrath himself. He steps in, he provides a sacrifice, and he bridges the gap for us. For us.

Jesus becomes sin on our behalf, dies the death that we deserve, and three days later rises from the grave and proves his victory.

This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Good News for all people. That while we mess things up, while we sin against a Holy and Beautiful God, we don’t have to bear our own punishment. And we don’t worship a God that can be defeated.

And. If that wasn’t enough, he also crowns us with the righteousness that he earned in living the perfect life we could never live. He takes our punishment, and he gives us his victory prize. And in him, we secure every spiritual blessing for all eternity (Ephesians 1).

Our job is to receive him. To believe in him. To call on his name and declare him as Lord.

And then, we worship, and we walk. We journey through this life soaking in the greatness of the Son and responding to him in faith. It’s not about perfection. That was already accomplished. It’s about praising his name and making him known. It’s about declaring his beauty and giving it away everywhere we can, any way we can. 

He is so beautiful. May his face be all we seek.

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One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. – Psalm 27:4

Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household. Acts 16:31 

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. – John 1:12

We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. – Hebrews 10:10

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Additional resource: Does God have to punish sinners?

Worship: O Lord, You’re Beautiful

Related Posts: The Gospel
The Gospel of El Roi
Walking the Path