Life is a gift. I know that. Dust is what will become of my body, but not of my soul. God doesn’t make imperfect things and in the beginning man was blameless and eternal. He was given free will and he deliberately chose to disobey. As a result, the relationship between man and God was severed and man’s eternal life and innocence was lost. The original sin--disobedience of God’s will--blemished all of humanity. The entirety of the Old Testament tells of humanity attempting to mend its relationship with God as well as cleanse its spiritual blemishes, but always falling short.
The Law--the 10 commandments--was sent by God in order to guide his people, and according to the law the punishment for sin is death. Humanity tried to follow it, but it always stumbled on its path, and thus sacrifices were offered to try to mend what was broken and to cleanse what was stained. But God was not pleased and he had loved humanity so much that out of love he sent a bridge between man and God. He sent Jesus. The only person who could sustain the entirety of God’s wrath, the only person who could be able of living a blameless life, and the only person who would be willing to give up his life for humankind. He sent His own son to die, to pay the ultimate price, and to mend the bond between man and Himself.
Jesus is my God, and I acknowledge that I am a sinner, the worst of the worst. The good I could do in a thousand lifetimes could not atone for one lifetime’s sins. It is only through the Jesus’ sacrifice that my sins are cleansed and made as white as snow. It is only through Jesus that my sins are thrown into the depths of the sea. Through Jesus I am redeemed. That is why I am a Christian, and by believing in His name, believing that He came and died for my sins, and confessing that He is my Lord and savior, I have salvation through grace alone. I have nothing to offer that will come anywhere near the value of His perfect atonement, but what I do have, I give. He died for me, so I’ll live for Him. All I can give is me, therefore, I love, because love was first shown to me on the cross. I know I will never be perfect, but I will pick up my own cross and strive to serve my God out of my gratitude for all that He has done for me.