Câu chuyện về Chúa Trời (Phần 1: Real love that seems like a dream)

As man walked upon this land called earth, in the days before history had been divided into BC and AD, a man by the name of Joseph lived in a village called Nazareth, located in Galilee in the northern region of Israel.

Joseph was a kindhearted and righteous young man. He was a carpenter by trade and was engaged to a young woman by the name of Mary, a woman whom he loved dearly.

Yet, in the midst of his joy, Joseph encountered a problem that caused him unspeakable agony. He discovered that Mary, the woman he loved more than anyone in the world, was pregnant with a child that had nothing to do with him. Thinking that he could not take a woman in such a condition to be his wife, he was considering breaking off their relationship quietly, but then an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
"Do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." (Matthew 1:20-21)

The angel went on to explain that these events were the process of the fulfillment of the promise that God had made through the prophet Isaiah 740 years earlier. Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14 contains a record of this promise:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

"Immanuel" means "God with us." In other words, this prophecy was to let us know that God Himself would appear to us in human form.

Before this was revealed to Joseph, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and said,
"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end" (Luke 1:30-33).

When Mary heard these words, she asked,
"How can this be, since I do not know a man?" (See Luke 1:34)

The angel replied,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. ... For with God nothing will be impossible" (Luke 1:35, 37).

Mary responded in obedience to these words:
"Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38).

When Mary was in the house of Zacharias the priest after she had conceived, she sang God's praises, saying,
"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation" (Luke 1:46-50).

Joseph was not aware of the praise for God overflowing from Mary's heart as this blessed truth was accomplished within her, so it was only natural that his heart should have been filled with deep concern.

It was when Joseph was in this state that the angel of the Lord proclaimed to him the news that the light had shone in Galilee on the land that lay in the shadow of death, as had been foretold long before in the word of God received by the prophet Isaiah:

Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, as when at first He lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, In Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined (Isaiah 9:1-2).

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9: 6-7)

Isaiah made this prophecy a long time ago, 740 years before Jesus was born. It was when the Child had been conceived in Mary's womb in accordance with the prophecies, and the predictions of the prophets were being fulfilled one by one, that Augustus, the Roman emperor who had control of various countries along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, gave the command that a census be taken of all the world. This stemmed from the emperor's greed for a more efficient collection of taxes, but God's plan surpasses Satan's schemes that had aroused this greed in the emperor, and this plan was gradually beginning to shine through the light of His word.

Joseph and Mary also traveled the long distance up to Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, to the city of their ancestor David, in order to be registered.

Mary was due to give birth when she and Joseph arrived at their destination, but the city was bustling with travelers and they were not able to find a place to stay. They just managed to find somewhere in a stable and there Mary gave birth to her child, wrapped Him in swaddling bands, and laid Him in a manger.

It was around that time that an angel of the Lord appeared to some shepherds who were watching over their flocks by night in the open fields. The shepherds trembled with fear as the glory of God shone round about them. Then the angel said to them,

"Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: you will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger" (Luke 2:10-12).

Then suddenly a whole host of angels appeared in the sky, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" (Luke 2:14)

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds looked at one another and said,

"Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us" (Luke 2:15).

They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger, and they told them what the angel had said to them.

Mary stored these words up in her heart and pondered over them.

The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all that they had seen and heard.

A short time after that, Jerusalem was suddenly set in commotion. Some wise men had come from the east and asked,

"Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him" (Matthew 2:2).

King Herod gathered all the chief priests and scribes and he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. (Matthew 2:4).

They told him that long ago a prophet had said that a star would appear out of Jacob (See Numbers 24:17). 

After this, Jesus left Nazareth and went and lived in the area of Capernaum, near the sea in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This, too, was in accordance with God's instructions, spoken through the prophet Isaiah.

Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, as when at first He lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, In Galilee of the Gentiles. (Isaiah 9:1)

One Sabbath day when Jesus went into the synagogue, He turned to the book of the prophet Isaiah and read from it. Then He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and said to the people who were gathered in the synagogue,

"Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:21).

The Scripture that He had read was from the first verse of Isaiah chapter 61:1.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.

From this, we can see that God's word of warning, which was given long ago in the Garden of Eden, was definitely accomplished.

Adam, the forefather of the human race, accepted the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil from his wife, Eve, and ate it. Eve had been deceived by the serpent and had eaten this fruit, the fruit that God had said was not to be eaten. As a result, the eyes of both of them were opened and they lost the blessing that God had given them in the beginning.

God had said that on the day they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would surely die. Even though physically they were still alive, their spirits were in a dead state. In other words, the communication between God and man was broken off, and Adam became the forefather of men who were dead in trespasses and sin.

In order to give life to the pitiful spirits of men who would inherit this dead state and be born in trespasses and sin, God said that the descendant of the woman would appear and bruise the serpent on the head (See Genesis 3:15). God gave this as a warning to the serpent, the tempter.

These were the words that God spoke in the Garden of Eden to Adam, who had forgotten the commandment that he had been given and had eaten the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and to the serpent who had led him to eat the fruit.

At the time when God created the heavens and the earth, He was pleased with what had been accomplished on each day except the second day, when He made the firmament.

On the sixth and last day of the creation, when God created man, we even find that God said, "it was very good" (see Genesis 1:31).

On the second day, however, God did not express any joy at all. When we look into this matter, we find that it was because of Satan, who had become the prince of the power of the air. So it was that God had commanded Adam to tend the garden and to take care of it (See Genesis 2:15).

Thus from the time Adam left the garden paradise, man roamed in the darkness until at one point in the history of mankind, God gave His only begotten Son. This was Jesus Christ, born as the descendant of a woman, as God had said in the Garden of Eden. 

In Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14 the prophet wrote,

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel,

and the apostle Matthew wrote of

Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ (Matthew 1:16).

The prophet Isaiah wrote,

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given (Isaiah 9:6),

and in reference to this Child, he said that He would be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

About 740 years after Isaiah recorded these words, God's gift was conceived in Nazareth. The Child that was conceived was the promised Son of God.

Even though Jesus was born in Bethlehem, it was in Nazareth that God gave His Son to mankind; in other words, it was in Nazareth that He was conceived. As the Child was developing in His mother's womb, the Roman emperor, to satisfy his greed, sent out a decree that a census be taken. As a result, the Child's mother went south to Bethlehem, and there the Child was brought into the world.

Thus came about the birth of Jesus Christ, as had been foretold long before - about 700 years before - by the prophet Micah.

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. (Micah 5:2)

Jesus then left this place where the prophecy had been fulfilled and went to Egypt. Later, He moved to Nazareth and lived there in order that He might appear as the great light to shine upon "the people who walk in darkness" as prophesied by Isaiah. This truth that had now fulfilled the Word of God, which had been concealed for many long years, actually became the light that illuminated the darkness for the people living in Nazareth.

Also, when Jesus was born, the glory of the Lord shone round about the shepherds who were in the fields, and the multitude of the heavenly host praised God saying,

"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased" (Luke 2:14 NASV).

This is truly the way it is.

Since then, for the past two thousand years, amongst the countless people who have lived on this earth, there have been, and still are, people who have become children of God, in other words, those with whom God is pleased.

These are the people who believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God; who praise God in their hearts for the grace by which He has clothed their spirits with His love; whose hearts are overflowing with gratitude for the forgiveness of their sins; and who, through experience, have personally come to know what has been accomplished through this holy Light.

The Bible says of Jesus,

And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).

Someone was sent six months in advance in order to proclaim this true Light. This was John the Baptist. His father, Zacharias, was a priest of the division of Abijah, and at the time of the birth of his son, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied saying,

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:76-79).

After this had been accomplished the apostle Paul expressed it as follows,

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).

This corresponds to God's purpose in creating the heavens and the earth. When the earth was formless and void and darkness was over the surface of the deep, God said, "Let there be light," and He said that light was to shine upon the earth (See Genesis 1:3,15). It is clear that we were all spiritually blind until we were redeemed from the power of darkness, in other words, until we received forgiveness for our sins through the power of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who thus revealed God's love (See Colossians 1:12-14). 

There was a blind man who, having come to know Jesus for the first time, said,

"One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see" (John 9:25).

One of the reasons Jesus had come to this world was so that

"... they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind."

When He said this, some of those who opposed Him asked,

"Are we blind also?"(John 9:40)

To this Jesus replied,

"If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see,' therefore your sin remains" (John 9:41).

And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind." Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains." (John 9:39-41)

With this dispute in mind, the apostle John wrote,

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (John 1:5).

He also wrote that Jesus was "the true light which gives light to every man."

That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. (John 1:9-11)

As Jesus said, this true light that gives light to every man was Jesus Himself.

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. (John 9:5)

Long before this, the prophet Isaiah also said,

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. (Isaiah 9:2)

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

It says here, "unto us a Son is given." About 740 years later, God spoke through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, saying,

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Before Jesus, this only begotten Son, was born into the world in human form, He was God the Creator (See Proverbs 8:22-30).

"Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; and I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him." (Proverbs 8:30)

The Bible says that "No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him" (John 1:18). 

This is the One who is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His nature. He is also the One who created the world. He is the One who spoke long ago through the prophets of Israel in many portions and in many ways to the ancestors of the Israelites who lived before the birth of Jesus Christ. In other words, at the end of all these prophecies, God clothed Himself in the body of His Son and spoke to mankind.

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds. (Hebrews 1:1-2)

When the people marveled at this holy Man and asked,

"Who art Thou?"

Jesus said,

"Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning" (John 8:25).

Then He said,

"Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM" (John 8:58).

In saying this, He was revealing Himself as the eternal One.

The Holy Spirit of the One who said, "Before Abraham was, I am"

and "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning" is the Holy Spirit who was in the prophets (in their spirits) long ago as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. (1 Peter 1:10-11)

God, who spoke to the Israelites through many prophets over such a long period of time, also said,

"You are My witnesses," says the Lord, "and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me. I,even I, am the Lord, And besides Me there is no savior. I am the Lord, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King (Isaiah 43:10-11, 15).

He is the One who was born on this earth in accordance with the prophecies that said that a Child would be born, a Son (the only begotten Son) would be given and He would be the Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. He was born in the humble physical form of a man; He was the Word made flesh (See John 1:14).

He came to His own, in other words, He came to the land of Israel, but in the end, those who were His own didn't receive Him. They subjected Him to the most severe punishment of their time; they crucified Him. His hands and His feet were pierced with nails.

The Man who was killed in this way as a sinner, His face contorted in pain, a crown of thorns on His head, was none other than God's only begotten Son.

About 740 years earlier, the prophet Isaiah had written,

Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men" (Isaiah 52:14). 

Since He was clearly God and not just a man, the prophet Isaiah wrote, "His visage was so marred more than any man."

About a thousand years before Jesus was born, King David wrote,

For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet (Psalm 22:16).

He also wrote,

They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots (Psalm 22:18),

and

He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him! (Psalm 22:8).

Of Jesus' suffering, David wrote,

My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning? (Psalm 22:1)

If you look up all these prophesies one by one and compare them to the death of Jesus Christ and the events surrounding that death as they appear in the New Testament, you will come to see it all as the completion of a well-built structure that is made according to precise plans and designs.

Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: "They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots. (Matthew 27:35)

He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, "I am the Son of God." (Matthew 27:43)

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46)

Jesus suffered and died in this way, but three days later He rose from the dead. In reference to this, David had written many years earlier:

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:9-11).

Despite the fact that these records were to be found in the Scriptures, even those who had followed Jesus did not believe this truth. When two of these people were walking along the road to Emmaus together on the day after the Sabbath when Jesus had risen from the dead, Jesus came up to them and walked along with them; but their vision was obstructed, preventing them from recognizing Him. Jesus asked them what they were talking about as they walked along (See Luke 24:17), and they replied,

"Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?" (See Luke 24:18)

Then they told him about Jesus and how He had been so unjustly treated.

"The chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see." (See Luke 24:20-24). 

Jesus said to them,

"O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" (Luke 24:25-26)

And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them carefully the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. Then, when the three of them sat down to eat, Jesus took some bread and after He had blessed it, He broke it and gave it to the two men.

It was then that their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus Christ. Then Jesus disappeared from their sight, and the two said to one another,

"Did not our hearts burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the scriptures (the Old Testament)?" (See Luke 24:13-32)

Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me." And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things." (Luke 24:44-48)

Thus Jesus was crucified and died and was raised from the dead three days later. After He had suffered in this way, He presented Himself alive, by many convincing proofs. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke of the things concerning the kingdom of God. (See Acts 1:3)

If we consider the most important part of all of this, even when Jesus was born, the angel proclaimed,

"For He will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).

Just as the angel revealed this about Jesus after His resurrection, Jesus Himself also said,

"That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47).

Also the apostle Peter wrote,

"To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins" (Acts 10:43).

This blessed truth to which, through the grace of Jesus Christ, man's spirit has been called from his wanderings in darkness and the oppression of sin, is the news of God's tremendous love, which He promised beforehand in the Old Testament. This is the gospel that God promised in advance through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures. (See Romans 1:2).

Therefore the purpose of recording the Old Testament and that of recording the New Testament is to be found in the words Jesus spoke when He was living in the flesh, that is to say, before He was crucified:

You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me" (John 5:39).

At that time, whenever the Jews read the Old Testament, they did so in the hope of receiving eternal life, but Jesus Himself told them that the Scriptures, or the Old Testament, bore witness to the fact that He was the Christ. Also, the apostle John bore witness, saying that the Scriptures that make up the New Testament were recorded so that those who read them might believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the Christ, and that by believing in the name of Jesus, God's only begotten Son, they might receive eternal life.

"But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. (John 20:31) 

King Solomon lived more than 900 years before the birth of Jesus. Even though he enjoyed so much glory, he said,

"Vanity of vanities."

He said that there was no difference between the death of animals and the death of men. On the other hand, however, he also said,

Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth? (Ecclesiastes 3:21)

and

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 3:15)

We can see that this reference to the fact that judgment awaits everybody after death concurs with the words that Jesus Himself said in the New Testament, the words of Jesus as recorded by the apostle John:

He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak (John 12:48-50).

Similarly, among the texts that well explain the love of God in sending Jesus Christ into this world, we find the verse that reads,

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

It is a fact that if we only believe, as it says here, we escape the punishment of eternal destruction and we receive eternal life. Yet there is one truth that we must be sure to realize and that is the fact that Jesus Christ took our sins - the sins of each one of us individually - upon Himself when He died on the cross. It is absolutely necessary to know this. John the Baptist also made a loud exclamation regarding Jesus Christ.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)

The sin of the whole world that He took upon Himself includes my sins - the sins of the author of this book - and your sins - the reader - that is, your personal sins. The sins of each of us individually are all included. The Bible says,

That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9-10). 

It is necessary for us to think once again about all the things that have been discussed up to this point. If you do that, you will probably remember how the Old Testament explained beforehand the birth of Jesus, His death, and the fact that God raised Him from the dead. If you believe the entire Bible from what you have read - firstly through the prophets and then through the writings of the apostles - the promise that Jesus Himself made will be accomplished in you.

Let's listen carefully now to this promise.

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. (John 5:24)

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. (John 6:47)

If you believe this as a fact and do not have any doubts about it, then be thankful to God for the love that He has given you free of charge, and let's read once more with gratitude the words of Jesus:

"And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one." (John 10:28-30)

Let us spend our lives with hearts thankful to God and to His Son, Jesus Christ, who freely bestowed this great love upon us, and let us cast all our cares upon Him.

Amen.