The True Message of the Bible

True Christian spirituality is the only faith in the whole world where "grace" is the basis. Every other religion teaches you that you have to DO something to earn God's favor or love, or else you have to perform certain rituals in order to attain a certain consciousness or something. The message of Jesus is quite simple--there is absolutely NOTHING we can do to earn our way to Heaven. It was God, out of His great love for us, that took the initiative to redeem us back to Himself. So then our right standing with Him depends fully on what Christ has done on the cross for us, and not what we try to earn or work for. It is a free gift that we must accept by faith. You see, here's the bottom line. Christianity is not a religion. Religion is a man-made set of rules that man imposes on himself and other people. A list of do's and don'ts with consequences attached. Christianity is an invitation to have an actual relationship with God...the very Creator of all there is. It's really quite remarkable. I mean, to think that an all-powerful, all-knowing God would even want to have a relationship with us--to call us His children-- in the first place blows my mind! But that's why God is so wonderful. So many people see Him as this austere, mean Judge up in the sky, ready to squash us if we get out of line. Or at least this aloof, distant God that could really care less about you, letting you try to make it the best way you can and only if we beg and only if we are good will He lend a hand once in a while. That's not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible, the one true God and Creator of all things, is loving, compassionate, and caring. And He desires above all to be close to His creation. To free us from that which enslaves us. To heal us from our wounds that we inflict upon ourselves from choosing our own way (think of all the crap in the world--how we hurt one another because of selfishness and pride, the divorce rate, families being torn apart, people getting addicted to all sorts of stuff like drugs, alcohol, pornography) instead of living in His. He makes the first move. He doesn't wait for us to get ourselves cleaned up before we can come to Him. And that is the very reason why He came in the form of a man...Jesus Christ...to go to the cross and redeem us back to Himself. Basically that's the message of the Bible in a nutshell.