So why are we all about Jesus?  Simply put, we're all about Jesus because of who he is and what he did.

 So who is he?

The bible refers to Jesus both as God and as the Son of God.  This reflects the unique reality of God's existence that Christians call the Trinity - God is One and God exists in the three unique persons of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  As God, Jesus has always existed, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  As the Son, Jesus uniquely took on human form around 2000 years ago.  As one of Jesus' followers wrote, "[Jesus, God the Son] became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."  Another contemporary of Jesus said, "I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God."  And also, "He who comes from heaven is above all."

Yeah, God, who created all things decided to come and spend some time with us here on earth.  Pretty amazing and awesome.  It was a huge deal then, and it is still a huge deal today.

 But what did he do?

It would be cool enough for Jesus to just leave heaven and spend some time with us.  But he did WAY MORE than that!  Jesus told us in a few different ways why he came to live among us.  At one point he said, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."  Another time Jesus said, "For the Son of Man [talking about himself] has come to seek and to save that which was lost."  And he also said, "The Son of Man [himself again] did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."  All of these statements point toward the same thing.  Somebody or some people needed something - a better life, to find their way, to have a debt paid - and Jesus came to meet the need.

So who was it?  Me, you, everybody!  As people who were created by God we are accountable to him.  But each of us brings some tendencies and some history to the table that are not acceptable to God.  And so, we don't have the relationship with God that he created us to have and we don't live the amazing life that he created us to live.  This is what Jesus meant when he called us "lost."  The abundant life that he wants us to have is a life lived in right relationship with God.  And the debt we owe is the penalty that our unpleasing tendencies and behavior deserve in God's eyes.  Jesus came to earth to deal with all of that stuff for us.  And as his own words indicate, the penalty was stiff - it cost Jesus his life.

This can be a hard concept.  Most of us, when we consider our lives and the people around us, don't really think we're that bad.  But Jesus was clear - our need is huge, and it required his unique, divine intervention.  When Jesus died on the cross he was receiving God's punishment for our misdeeds (what the bible calls "sins").  And since he paid our debt, we can now have the relationship with God and the amazing life that we were created to have, even being adopted into God's family.

And it doesn't end there.  Three days after Jesus died He rose again, which was witnessed by many people, and he still lives in heaven today.  The fact that he rose from the dead proves two major things.  First, that he is in fact the Son of God!  And second that he was successful in paying the debt we owed!  Because Jesus lives, we can truly live in him.

What does this mean for us?  It means that Jesus has made the way for us to live the life with God that we were created to live.  And he offers it freely to anyone who is willing to come to him.  That's why we are all about Jesus Christ!

If you have questions about this, or if you'd like to get references to places in the bible where these things are discussed, please use the "I have a question" link below.  This is a lot.  It's AWESOME!  But it's a lot.  And we'd love to help you process this further, and consider the life that is only found in Jesus.

God bless you.