We live imperfect lives. I don’t know about you, but my relationships are so far from perfect. My relationships have been filled with pain and suffering, whether I’m the one who’s hurting, causing the pain or helplessly observing. We would say that this is the result of a particular perfect relationship gone wrong. You may have heard the stories involving a snake and some fruit in a garden – God had perfection for us, but we didn’t trust Him. We walked the other way. It is for this reason that we find ourselves struggling so hard and getting nowhere in the process.

The hope we have for God turning this whole mess around comes from the fact that our story does not start with our sin – it starts and ends with His goodness.

He’s promised it to us and we’ve watched Him keep all of His promises in the past. From the very beginning, He promised us that He Himself was coming to our rescue and we watched Him faithfully do just that all throughout the history recorded in the Old Testament – I’m not just talking about the people society deemed appropriate to save, either, I’m talking all ages, men and women, murderers, prostitutes, the chosen Israelites and their very enemies – God was faithful to Israel* and through Israel, even though Israel (and everyone else) was constantly unfaithful to Him.

Then, He did the most amazing thing and came down in the flesh. He became one of us, fully God and fully man – He was born, He cried salty tears, He ate bland baby food and probably spit it up. He got blisters on his sandaled feet and experienced deep emotional pain. He grieved the death of a dear friend, His soul blazed at the injustice in the world – He even wrestled with God’s plan for His life. His friends hurt Him and left Him. He was real. Real but perfect. In all the highs and lows he experienced, he never once responded with sin. He lived the perfect life for which we were made – even though we walked away from it.

He is our hope, friends. He is the true Israel – when He died as a perfect man and rose glorified, He took our rebellion to the grave and brought us back into relationship with Him.

Don’t let that be the end of our story! God never intended for us to live alone in our salvation – we have been blessed to take part in God’s world-wide makeover. As He restores my life and yours, we can come together like the unique puzzle pieces we have been designed to be and all get a better view of, “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”

The most important relationship we could ever have is with the God who made the universe and who actually desires us to be in it with Him! We cannot do this without each other.  If this is something you’re curious about, drop us a line – we don’t have all the answers, but we care about your questions!

Written by: Shelby Kieffer

*Israel: May God prevail; he struggles with God; God perseveres.