my cousin has great passion for the LORD. he has traveled the world on missions to help those in need and spread the gospel. i admire that. we both lost our beautiful grandmother this year, and that hit us all hard. she had a way of reaching out to each of her grandchildren, and i might add that he is the only that kept up with her piano lessons.
this past week we received his christmas letter and i asked if i could share it with all of you. it is a beautiful letter about GOD, faith and what JESUS CHRIST means to us that believe.
"dear friends and family,
i hope you're doing well and that this has been a good year for you. for the most part 2010 has been a good year for me; however, it's also been a very sobering one. the death this year of my grandmother and the sudden deaths of two of my co-workers reminded me that life is short and none of us knows how much time we have here on earth. consequently there's some important information as your friend/relative i feel the need to share with you.
in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season it's easy to lose track of why we celebrate christmas. christmas is a celebration of the birth of the savior, JESUS CHRIST, that GOD sent to us. why did we need a savior? well, that's what i wanted to share with you in this letter. in a nutshell, here's what the bible teaches:
1. GOD created us because HE wanted to have a personal relationship with us. however, because of our sin we are separated from GOD. the bible teaches that if people die in this condition they will be eternally separated from GOD in hell, which is a literal place that JESUS himself mentioned several times in the bible. the bible also teaches that people cannot remove this separation nor earn their way into with their good deeds; GOD is holy and righteous, and because of HIS righteousness HE is compelled to judge sin and cannot simply overlook it. many people believe that "good" people automatically go to heaven and only "bad" people go to hell, but that isn't what the bible teaches.
2. the good news is that GOD loves us so much that HE sent HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST, to die for our sins so that we wouldn't have to pay the penalty of our sins in hell: "for GOD so loved the world that HE gave HIS ONE and ONLY SON, that whoever believes in HIM shall not perish but have eternal life" john 3:16
3. it's not enough to just intellectually believe that JESUS died for our sins. in order to receive GOD'S salvation we must individually receive JESUS CHRIST through faith. a person can receive JESUS into their lives by confessing to GOD that they're a sinner, by accepting JESUS' death on the cross as payment for their sins, and by asking JESUS to come into their life as their LORD and SAVIOR.
4. the bible teaches that JESUS is the only way to heaven: "salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." acts 4:12. JESUS HIMSELF claimed to be only way to heaven: "I AM the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the FATHER (i.e. GOD) except through me" john 14:6. on one side note: if, as many people believe, there are other ways to get to heaven, it would have been awfully cruel of GOD to send JESUS to die on the cross for us since there would have been no need for it.
5. people who've accepted JESUS CHRIST have no need to fear death, because their sins are completely forgiven and GOD promises them eternal life with HIM in heaven: "therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in CHRIST JESUS" romans 8:1; "i write these things to you who believe in the name of the SON OF GOD so that you may know that you have eternal life." 1 john 5:13
i know many of you share my christian beliefs so you probably feel like i'm preaching to the choir. for you i'm writing this letter as an encouragement to you in the midst of any trials you may currently be facing; any temporary problems we may face here on earth pale in comparison to the precious and eternal gift we have in JESUS. i'm also writing to clarify any misconceptions you might have about what the bible teaches about salvation; i myself used to have misunderstandings about it, so i figured there's a chance some of you might have similar misconceptions. up until my 30s i believed that although JESUS died for my sins i still had to be a good person to get into heaven. i eventually learned that the bible doesn't teach that JESUS plus good deeds gets us into heaven; it teaches that salvation comes through faith in JESUS in alone "GOD saved you by HIS grace when you believed. and you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from GOD. salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it." ephesians 2:8-9
as long as we in our pride hold on to the notion that our trust in JESUS alone and humbly admitting to GOD there's nothing we can do on our own to earn our way to heaven can we be assured of salvation.
i realize that this is pretty heavy stuff i'm sharing with you and that this isn't a normal christmas letter you typically receive from folks. please know that i'm not trying to force my religious beliefs on you. one of the many freedoms we enjoy in this country is the freedom to choose our own religion (or the freedom to not follow religion at all), which is a freedom i hold very dear. i'm writing this letter to you not to force my beliefs on you but rather because i care about you and want to give enough information so you can make an informed decision about JESUS on your own. if what the bible teaches us is true (which i believe it is), then the most important decision any of us will make in this lifetime is whether or not we receive GOD'S free gift of salvation by accepting what JESUS did for us on the cross as payment for our sins.
i'm enclosing a book that goes into more depth (for your joy) about what the bible teaches about all this that i hope you'll find helpful. if at some point you have questions about christianity in general please feel free to ask me. i realize that one's religious beliefs are a very personal thing, so if you don't want to talk about this i totally understand. i want to respect your "space" so i'm not planning to talk about this letter unless you bring it up, but i want you to know you always have an open door to ask me questions, whether that be now or in the future.
i hope you have a blessed christmas and i wish you the very best in 2011."
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