This Is What I Believe

Thousands of years ago, a man who was perfect and flawless, the Son of the Creator, walked the very face of the earth in order not to punish us but to redeem us, and to free of us from the chains of our own sins. His name is Jesus Christ. Like anyone with a firm public principle of mind, Jesus had haters and He also had lovers. He was born as one of us, breathing the air of humanity, feeling what we felt, enduring our own pains. He was faultless though.

He lived as one of us but not once did He make a mistake. And that, my friends, is why He was scorned and detested — because people were jealous, envious and resentful. He warned us that He would give His life and yet it took us by surprise. One week before He was destined to be nailed to a cross, they respected Him, they worshipped Him. But soon enough, they backstabbed Him for the very pleasure of it — WE backstabbed Him. The pain He suffered was undoubtedly the most horrifying ache one could sustain. But just when every hope was lost, something happened that changed the entire world: He rose from the grave that held Him captive. He began to breathe existence again. It was then that everyone regretted giving up on Him.

I don’t think this is some fairytale or myth — or even something that I don’t fully put faith in. This is what I believe. It’s life-changing, overwhelming, heartwarming. Jesus was mocked for being the Redeemer, which means you’re going to be mocked for believing in the Redeemer. He said this to His disciples (and it applies to us, the messengers, as well):

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’”

John 15: 18-25