Many of us feel fiercely independent, as though we don’t need anyone or anything but ourselves. Quite frankly, any who feel like that is simply wrong - everyone needs Jesus Christ: Let me tell you why: In the first place, man needs Jesus because he is a man. The first chapter of the Bible reveals that God created the world and everything in it. Of all God’s creations, only man was created as a spiritual being with the ability to glorify God. While animals act by instinct to fulfill their natural desires, God enabled man to overcome his natural desires and seek his spiritual welfare. “This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard: fear God and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Furthermore, man is not God.
We have needs that we cannot supply, namely guidance. We need God’s guidance to help us make decisions about our lives. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man; but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs 14:12). If we are to please God, we must seek his will.
In the second place, man needs Jesus because he is a sinner. From the time of Adam and Eve until now, the history of man shows clearly that he is a sinner. The Great Flood in the time of Noah was brought on because “the wickedness of man was great in the earth” (Genesis 6:5). Romans 3:23 tells us that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Because of sin separating us from God, we need a Savior.
Next, man needs Jesus because he needs help. As noted in Jeremiah 10:23, “It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” We cannot guide ourselves in the spiritual realm, without help, and most of us learn faster with an example to follow. Christ is that example: “For hereunto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps.” (I Peter 2:21). We are exhorted to be “imitators of Christ” in I Corinthians 1:11.
Regardless of the situation we face or conditions around us, Jesus has shown by His life how we can deal with it.
Finally, man must spend eternity somewhere. “It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Jesus shows only two destinies, and we choose by how we live here in this life. The wicked and righteous are separated to the left and right. He then says of the wicked, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matt. 25:46). In spite of our sins, God “wants all men to be saved.” (I Tim. 2:4). The strongest proof of this is found in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Dear friend, whether you realize it or not, you need Jesus Christ in your life. Make Him a part of it – build your life around Him - before it’s eternally too late. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:13).
- R. W. McAlister preaches for
the Anna Church of Christ in Anna, IL.He may be contacted
through the congregation's website: http://www.annachurchofchrist.com/
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