I grew up in a Christian household. In fact, I jokingly say that I have been a Christian from the womb. My mum is a Preacher (Hey P.Ks) so I used to think that Christianity flowed through me even before I was born. That when other kids’ were saying ‘Mama’ and ‘Dada’, I was speaking in tongues😂. Surprisingly, that mindset continued until I was an adult. I started to believe that I was God’s grandchild – My mum (who is the child of God) would hear from Him and then come tell me whatever the Lord says. Apart from the usual children prayers, for God to give my parents money to buy me gifts or help me pass an exam I hadn’t studied for, other prayers that seemed big, I would tell my parents and I would expect them to pray on my behalf. As a kid, that seemed to work. I remember vividly, whenever I would have a bad dream, I would rush into my parents’ bedroom, they would pray for me and I would go back to bed. My Christianity was reliant on them.

As I continued growing and particularly when I moved to another country, far away from home, I started experiencing God personally. God was giving me dreams, highlighting scriptures that would be the exact answers to the situations I was facing and at times convicting me through the Holy Spirit. Additionally, I felt like the devil now started attacking me personally. As a family, we had faced spiritual warfare previously but again, that had been for my parents to fight. I thought to myself “The audacity of the devil to come at me personally – doesn’t he know I am a passenger prince in this ride called salvation😂.”

As a Christian now, I realise that my salvation is not based on the family I come from. My quest to pursue a personal relationship with Christ has led me to truly learn the reason of why I believe what I believe – the Story of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Here’s why…..

I grew up going to Sunday school and learnt the story of Jesus. How He died on the cross for my sins, was buried and on the third day rose again and then ascended to heaven. But there is a difference between knowing something and truly understanding. Like many Christians, Easter had become just another few days that we are off work, go to church on a Friday and a Sunday, remember the sacrifice of Jesus then go back to our normal Christian lives.

But this Easter, I want you to consider the magnitude of Jesus dying on the cross for us. I want you to consider that He was a perfect man who suffered a criminal’s death. That He did not have to die, He chose to die. He asked God the Father, if there was any way that the cup of suffering would be taken from Him – Yet still chose to surrender to the Father’s will (Matthew 26:39). Jesus had done miracles throughout His life – He had raised people from the dead, healed the sick, calmed the storm, fed people – You name it. As the people were taunting Him, saying that if He was God’s Messiah, he could save himself (Luke 23:35), Jesus would have chosen to once and for all shut the haters up by getting Himself out of the cross. It was not because He was powerless, that He chose to stay on the cross, it was because of His love for us. It was our sins that nailed him there, including the sins of those who had whipped Him, shouted ‘Crucify Him, Crucify Him’, Judas’ betrayal, sins of the past and sins of the future – every sin.

To even add to His amazing love for us, while on the cross and in so much pain, He still chose to engage with the criminal to His side, to assure him that they would be together in paradise (Luke 23:41-42). He made sure not to utter the words It is Finished (John 19:30) before His encounter with the criminal, because this criminal was part of His salvation purpose on earth. It wasn’t finished until it was truly finished. My self-righteous young Christian self always took offence with the way this criminal seemed to have had it ‘easy’. You mean he spent his life in the streets doing whatever and all of over sudden, He is going to be with Jesus in paradise. (I’ll probably have to apologise to that criminal when I get to heaven). It was not until I looked at my life and realised I am that criminal and that criminal is me. I have committed so much sin in my life and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a). So if God was to give me the full penalty of my sins, then I would be also hanging like that criminal – paying for the sins I had committed. Yet it is because of the blood that Jesus shed, for Him facing the penalty of a criminal yet He had never committed any sin, that I get to live eternally (Romans 6:23b). All glory to God!! I love how Forrest Frank in his rendition of ‘Jesus paid it all’ puts it:

Felt so full of shame that I wished that I was dead
Until I realised that somebody paid the price
The gift was free for me, but He had to give His life

Forrest Frank – Jesus paid it all

I recently heard Lisa Harper say in this video:

Can you imagine what we would think if we rolled up to Starbucks and the person handing us our coffee was wearing an electric chair around their neck. We would be like, “That is just bizarre!” and yet we just throw the cross on our necks, on a bracelet or on a T-shirt and we don’t stop and think “This is the crux of history, this is the cornerstone of salvation.”

Lisa Harper – Better Together TV

If we just see Easter as another holiday or another bible event, then we will miss out on the significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection to us. There is no salvation without it. We are called Christians, because we are followers of Jesus Christ – The one who came, lived and died for us. Death is not final because Jesus triumphed over death (1 Corinthians 15:55). His Crown of Thorns has freed our minds. His nailed pierced hands have broken our chains. We are alive because He died. We are free because He was crucified. When you want to establish how strong a building is, you don’t look at the roof. You go down to it’s foundation. My prayer is that our faith will be considered strong because we constantly choose to remember the sacrifice and finished work of the cross. This is the Foundation of our Salvation.

If there is anything that the paragraphs’ above show is that none of us could have ever been good enough to pay for our own sins. We can never be smart enough, rich enough, cool enough, or like me, come from a good enough Christian family to earn salvation. Salvation is a gift, that’s right a gift. This gift is for everyone – everyone who believes (John 3:16). Romans 10:9 says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. The question is “Are you willing to receive the gift?” If your answer is Yes, here is a short prayer of confession and acceptance of the gift of salvation:

Dear Lord, I come before you, confessing I am a sinner and I am in need of a Saviour. I believed you lived the perfect life I could not live, died the death I deserved and was raised to life for my salvation. Today, I choose to place faith alone in Christ alone. I renounce my old way of living and I choose to follow you today. Hold my hand in this journey with you. In Jesus Name, AMEN.

Luke 15:7 says that there is rejoicing in heaven when one sinner repents. Basically, heaven is turning up because of this decision you have made. Salvation is instant, sanctification is a process. Now that you have invited Christ into your life, He will walk with you, purifying you through and through. Doesn’t mean that tomorrow when you wake up, everything in your life will be perfect but it does mean that the Holy Spirit now lives inside of you, He will guide you to live a life worthy of the decision you have made. I can assure you that this is the best decision of your entire life. Jesus Christ will hold you every step of the way – Like a seatbelt, He will safeguard in the smooth roads as well as in the bumps. If you would like to talk about next steps after believing in Jesus, please feel free to reach out to me on my email: victorgeorge1998@gmail.com.

If you have read any of my blog posts then you know I am far from perfect but I am always happy to share what I have learnt as I continue to walk with Jesus and learn from others. What is the significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection in your life? Please comment below.

With the love of Christ,

Victor