Devotional: Jesus came so that the world would be saved through Him
Do you remember when the space shuttle Columbia blew up on re-entry in 2003?
Seven crew members lost their lives in that tragedy. A piece of the fuel tank had damaged the shuttle. NASA engineers debated the extent of the damage. For 15 days, the seven crew members carried on their mission not knowing they were doomed. Their flight director even emailed them and told them not to be concerned. Even if they knew their fate, there was nothing they could have done to save themselves. They didn’t have the equipment or expertise to go outside the spacecraft and fix the damage.
Those seven astronauts are a picture of the spiritual condition of all mankind.
When sin entered into the world through Adam and Eve, Romans 8:22 says, “the whole creation has been groaning up to the present time.” All are sinners and all have sinned.
Imagine if NASA engineers sent another spacecraft up to the Columbia to rescue them. A tethered astronaut from the second spacecraft walks several feet through space and knocks on the door of the damaged shuttle. He says, “Follow me.”
Can you imagine the seven astronauts saying, “Isn’t there some other way? Are you sure it is that serious?”
Jesus came to earth and knocks on the door of your heart and says, “You are doomed! Follow me to safety.”
He sacrificed His life on the cross to pay the price for our sins so we could be set free from God’s judgment.
Yet, some people say, “Isn’t there some other way? Are you sure it is that serious?”
John 3:17-18 says, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world would be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned and whoever does not believe is condemned already.”
Take God’s invitation to salvation seriously. Yes, without Christ, man is doomed. But most people fly through their mission oblivious to the danger that is ahead. Accept God’s offer of salvation.
Pastor Larry Wise
Highland Community Church
This story was originally published August 21, 2015 at 4:18 AM with the headline "Devotional: Jesus came so that the world would be saved through Him."