Week 1 Day 3: Our Need For Jesus

“Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10 NASB

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray He gave them a very simple, basic prayer. This prayer includes our true purpose in life, to create with God a little piece of heaven on earth. We are made in the image of God to create and to rule, to work in unison with God to bring a portion of heaven to earth. That is what fulfills us. But that purpose goes horribly wrong when we try to create and rule outside the boundaries of God’s nature and will.

We struggle with the truth that finite beings cannot imagine much less understand the wisdom and knowledge of an infinite God. We may recognize that God exists and is greater than we are, but even then we struggle with turning religion into a human attempt to reach God. If we are not careful we will end up going through superstitious rituals, trying to make deals to get the outcome we want. We may not worship idols and call them gods but we do worship people, objects and rituals as though they are. The gift of creating and ruling with God becomes a curse without Him because when we try to create who we are, control our situations and attempt to manipulate God to get our way, we mess things up. Every time.

We are truly hopeless and fickle creatures without our Creator. We think it's our abilities that get us to God when in truth it has always been about God reaching out to man. But thankfully, God has our inabilities covered completely with the abilities of Christ.  The sin of man distorted and destroyed the role of co-rulers we had with God, so He sent His Son Jesus to restore that role. The creative rule of man was destroyed in the Garden, but Jesus restored it all on the cross. Jesus came to show us how to create a portion of heaven on earth and rule over it the way God intended.

God held the creation of man in very high regards, setting the standards for us higher than we can achieve on our own. From the very beginning, God knew we would need help to fulfill our purposes here on Earth. Jesus didn’t just come to repair the damage that was done in the garden of Eden. It was always God’s plan for Jesus to bridge the gap between man’s inability and God’s ability. Most of us miss out on the truth that from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, the Bible points to Jesus and our need for a Savior.

People talk about having a saving relationship with Jesus but many don’t know what that looks like. Take Peyton Manning as an example. We may tell others that we know him, and we may know details about his career and his personal life, but will that get us in his house for his birthday party? We may desperately WANT to know him personally, but without an invitation, without him reaching out to us, will never get in the door. God has reached down from heaven with an invitation into His house in the form of Jesus. He guides us to God and opens the door to His plans and helps us fulfill our purposes.

Do you believe working with God is more productive and beneficial then working against Him? What are some steps you can take to begin working with God today?

Memorize and Meditate on Matthew 6:10