Hope in Jesus

In the world everyone has a world view. I believe that the biblical world view is true, and whoever wholly believes that Jesus Christ died on the cross will spend eternity in heaven. A thorough world view will answer these questions: what is God like, what is the nature of the universe, what is the essential nature of man, what is the basis of morality and ethics, what is the cause of evil and suffering, what happens to man after death, and what is the meaning of history?

While people describe God in different ways, I think of him as infinite and personal. Of all the examples in the Bible of God being infinite, one of my favorites is John 1:1: “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.” Infinite means that God is “always there” and that he is totally independent. Amazingly, God is also personal. Personal means that God talks to us and is not someone who controls us; he interacts with us. Talking to Moses and telling him to free his people from Pharaoh, God showed his personal character. This God also reveals himself through the creation.

The universe declares there is a God. Creating the world, God planned it to work together perfectly. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” and Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made,” which means that God created the universe extraordinarily. The world is so complex that without a creator we wouldn’t exist. God has made man in a special and unique way.

Unlike other creatures, we are created in the image of God. Genesis 1:26 reads, “God said, ‘Let us make humans in our own image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish in the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’” This says we are created in the image of God. Being created in the image of the God who created us means that we are personal and more like God than any other animal. Wholly, man has a choice, and we are able to choose completely what we do, think, and say. Since we have a choice, we are able to listen to God and follow him. Adam, the first being, sinned, and now we all sin. Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is no one righteous, not even one.” Although the good news is that there is hope through Jesus Christ, our representative. Jesus is the light, the truth, and the only way. God has given us a choice to obey his standard.

God is the standard for morality and ethics. Since scripture is His word, we can find the standard in it, including Jesus’ living example. We also know what is true. John 8:29 says, “The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone.” God is with Jesus always, and Jesus is God, making him also the complete standard. Man doesn’t meet God’s standard.

Sadly, we are sinful because our first ancestors Adam and Eve sinned. Because of them, we are sinful, but through Jesus we are saved. Jesus, who came to earth to show that he the and way, died on the cross for our sins. When this happened, we were no longer separated from God. God has no longer separated us from him, and now we can spend eternity with him.

Christians believe that there is a life after death. Completely perfect is the best way to describe heaven. Heaven, which is where people go when they believe in Jesus dying on the cross for our sins, is paradise. In the world, if people reject God and die, they will be eternally separated from God in hell. If death was the end of the story, history would have no meaning.

In this world, I believe that there are two portions: visible and invisible. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). Buying clothes, books, and all other worldly things is temporary, while God is unseen, as are heaven and angels, which means they are eternal. Unquestionably, God will never leave us nor forsake us, which is the most comforting thing in the whole world. Although many things happened in the Bible, I think these are some of the most important: the world was created, Jesus was born, Jesus died, and Jesus rose again. I also think that Jesus coming back is completely important.

Because of this world view it is easier for me to recognize right from wrong. When defending my world view, I will be able to refer to biblical truths and feel confident in my beliefs. Thankfully the biblical world view also offers hope to sinners who are separated from God.