Heavenly Father sent His willing, obedient and perfect Son to earth to atone for the sins of all mankind and overcome death. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son...that the world through him might be saved" (John 3:16-17). I cannot imagine feeling the burden of all my own pains and sins at one time, let alone those of all mankind, but He did through pure love for us.
Why did Jesus have to suffer for us?
No matter how hard each of us tries, we are all unworthy to be able to return to live with Heavenly Father, who cannot allow any degree of unrighteousness to be in His presence. But He does love us and wants us to come home to Him. So Jesus offered to come to earth and pay the price of sin, that we may become perfect if we would repent.
Justice and Mercy This video helps clarify.
I recently heard a good analogy that compared our lives, and the grace of God, to a man in the desert who was tired and thirsty. Off in the distance he could see some palm trees, which of course meant there must be water. With all the effort he could muster, he crawled until he reached the oasis (the grace of God), and he was saved from death. Grace is given to us through Jesus Christ and His atonement, but that does not mean we can just sit there and wait for God to save us. We must humble ourselves to our knees, repent of our sins (again and again), and do our very best to come unto Christ and endure the trials of life; and when our earthly journey is over we can be at peace and know that we did our best. Even then we are not perfect, but Christ will make up the difference. We are then ready to live in the presence of God.
O Savior, Thou Who Wearest a Crown A song I love the words and music to this hymn of praise to Christ.
Before Christ died He called twelve men to be His apostles, and laid His hands upon their heads to give them priesthood authority to teach His gospel, perform the ordinances of salvation, and establish His Church in the world. He accomplished all He set out to do. I am truly grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ and the chance it gives me to repent of my sins and feel peace in my heart.
Scripture Study
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