God made us to live with Him. We chose to rule ourselves. Jesus shows the way and opens the way back. We turn and follow Jesus. Jesus will make all things new.
by Raimer Rojas
God created us in His image. He made us to know Him, show His goodness, and care for His world. We were not made to live apart from God. We were made to trust Him and live under His loving leadership.
God gave us real responsibility, but He never meant for us to carry life alone. Under His leadership, people lived in harmony with God, with one another, and with creation.
But humanity stopped trusting God. We rejected His leadership and chose self-rule—we tried to run life without Him. We reached for authority that belongs to God alone. We tried to decide for ourselves what is good, who we should be, and how life should work. But we were never made to carry that weight. We cannot see everything, understand everything, or control everything.
Our rebellion separated us from God and brought guilt, brokenness, and death. When humanity placed itself at the center, the harmony God created was broken. Our hearts became divided, our relationships were damaged, and creation began to suffer.
God did not give up on us. Jesus entered our broken world as the Son of God, the true King, and the true Human. He showed us what God is like and what human life was meant to be. Jesus trusted His Father completely. He lived in perfect love and obedience, showing us the way humans were created to live.
Then Jesus opened the way back to God. On the cross, He carried our sin and took the judgment we deserved so that we could be forgiven and brought back to God. But death could not hold Him. God raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus defeated sin and death, began the work of making all things new, and now reigns as King.
Jesus is not only the example we follow. He is the Savior we need and the King we can trust.
Because Jesus is alive and reigning, He invites us: “Follow Me.” Jesus calls us to turn from sin and self-rule and place our trust in Him as Savior and King. This is repentance and faith. We cannot earn salvation. It is God’s gift to us because of what Jesus has done.
Those who trust Jesus are forgiven and receive new life. God gives them the Holy Spirit, who changes them from the inside out and helps them follow Jesus. Following Jesus means we stop trying to take God’s place or run life without Him. We trust His leadership and faithfully care for what He has placed in our hands.
As we follow Jesus, He restores our relationship with God and teaches us to live in love and peace with others. He also invites us to join His mission. We share His good news, serve people, and bring His love into the broken places around us.
Under His loving reign, we are becoming the people we were created to be. We are growing more like Jesus and taking part in His work of making all things new.
One day Jesus will return as King and complete His work of making all things new. Evil will be judged, death will be destroyed, and creation will be renewed. Those who belong to Jesus will be raised to everlasting life. God will live with His people forever, and nothing will separate them from Him again.
Humanity will no longer reject God’s leadership. God’s people will fully reflect the life and character of Jesus and share in His good rule. The harmony broken by sin will be fully restored. People will live in right relationship with God, with one another, and with creation under the loving reign of King Jesus.
Jesus began this work through His life, death, and resurrection. He invites us to join Him as He continues His work in the world, but He alone will return and bring it to completion.
Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God and the rightful King of all creation. Everything was made through Him and holds together in Him. He entered our broken world, died for our sins, rose from the dead, and now reigns.
Jesus invites you to turn from sin and self-rule and place your trust in Him. Through Him, you can be forgiven, brought back to God, filled with the Holy Spirit, and given new life.
Following Jesus means trusting the One who created you, loves you, and gave Himself for you. It also means joining Him as He brings His good news, love, and healing into the world. You were never meant to carry life alone or rule it without God. Jesus invites you to lay down the burden of self-rule and live under His loving leadership.
This is God’s great story. This is the story of Jesus. And through faith in Him, you can find your place in it.
ASK:
Where do you find yourself in this story?
Are you ready to turn from sin, stop trying to run life without God, and trust Jesus as your Savior and King?
What, if anything, is keeping you from following Him today?
For a deeper exploration of this gospel story, read “Finding Your Place in the Story of Jesus: A Meta-Narrative of the Gospel.”