Abide in me, and I in you… — John 15:4
May God grant you mercy and forgiveness of all your transgressions. He asks that you believe in his Son Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed for the remission of sins. Our Lord says:
“I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11: 25-30)
The yoke of Christ is an easy one, but so many choose to carry burdens themselves.
Unbelievers try to follow their own path to God by doing “good” things and being “good” people, for they instinctively know they’ll answer to a Judge one day, though they may not know the Judge is Christ. He tells us there is no other way to God but through himself and not human goodness. To those who refuse to believe, he says:
“[W]hoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38)
Christ’s return will be as a thief in the night, catching us unaware. When he comes, everyone will know that Jesus is Lord, believer and unbeliever alike. It will be too late to seek forgiveness.
A brand new year is upon us. Spend some of it thinking about Christ and how his death set the guilty free. It is profound.
