Why we are going - Part 3 (Read 1 and 2 first)

I am not sure if you are able to pick up on all of the parallels in the story. I would like to explain how I fit in the story. I am that “young man”. There really is a King who left the familiar for the unfamiliar. But this is no ordinary king. This is the King of kings. His name is Jesus. As a matter of fact anyone reading this story can play the role of the “young man”. The Bible says that “He (Jesus), having the very nature God, did not consider being equal with God as something He would have to attain, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made as a human. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and was obedient to death – even death on a cross. “Jesus is the King who left a perfect place to come to an imperfect place called earth. He did this out of compassion for you and me. He could not bear to see us have to live our lives with no hope. All of us are born, by our very nature, as sinners. All of us, at one point or another, have made mistakes and/or bad choices. The problem is that God is holy and can’t allow sin in His presence. But He loved you and me so much and wants to have a relationship with us that He made a provision for us to know Him by leaving Heaven and coming to earth as a man named Jesus. He lived a perfect life and never sinned. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for you and for me by willingly choosing to die. When He was on the cross God placed all of the sins that you and I would ever commit on Jesus and Jesus took all of the punishment for our sins that we should have to take. The only difference between the king in the story and Jesus is that Jesus was only dead for 3 days. On the third day He rose from the grave. In doing this He completely defeated the enemy (satan) forever. Now Jesus makes us the same offer as the king in the story made to the young man. Jesus says to you and me, “Will you take on my Royal Name?” He has made the provision for us to know Him and to have a relationship with God as our Father. The only problem is many people are trying to reach God or maybe please Him by being as good as they can hope that the good will outweigh the bad. The only problem with that solution is that if you or I have ever done anything wrong at anytime then we are guilty in God’s sight and there is nothing we can do on our own to please Him. The only way we can take on the “Royal Name” and truly know God as our Father is to accept what Jesus has already done for us. It simply means that you confess to God that you have sinned, tell Him that you want His forgiveness, and by faith, accept what He has done for you. You make Him the boss of your life and allow Him to have control. As your Father, He has a wonderful plan for your life whether you are 10 or 60 years old. When I came to the understanding of this in my own life, I have never been the same since and I have never had a single regret of allowing Him to have control over my life. So, when God began to lead our lives in this direction (which, by the way, began almost 6 years ago), and understanding what He has done for us so that we could know Him, how in the world could we say no. Yes, at first, there was resistance on our part. But God is so patient. He slowly and methodically revealed to us His plan for our family. It is somewhat unnerving leaving the familiar for the unfamiliar, but He does promise in the Bible that “He will never leave us or forsake us”. Knowing the price He was willing to pay just so I could know Him, when He asked us to go, there was only one correct response – YES!!