You did that for me? Wow. [1 Peter 1:3-5]

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who are being protected by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. [1 Peter 1:3-5]

I think we can all list the names of some “religious leaders” that people still follow to this day. Some names that come to mind are Joseph Smith, Mohammad, Buddha, that elephant guy with the eight arms. It’s crazy to think that people are willing to follow these people isn’t it? In reality what did they actually do? Well, most of them claim to be a prophet from “God” (I use that term loosely) and He gave them a special message for mankind. Others have claimed to have reached a new level of spiritual enlightenment and when others reach this enlightenment they to can be “gods”. What? Are you kidding me? How about we listen to THE religious leader! THE God of the universe! This religious leader had so much love for His creation that He came in the form of a human being. He left the perfection and glory of heaven and stepped down to earth to dwell among us. He showed us mercy and grace by being hit, beat, bruised, spat upon, facial hair ripped out, crown of thorns force onto His brow, nails in each hand, a nail through His feet, mocked, cursed, and humiliated. Why? Why would the God give up all His glory to go through that? Well, in the verse above we have to very good reasons as to why He did this. The first is He rose from the dead! He separated Himself from the pack. No other religious leader has ever came back from the dead! What about Mohammad? Still dead. Joseph Smith. Still dead. Buddha. You guessed it, still dead. And what about Jesus? Resurrected. Three days in the tomb and He conquered death. So, what is the second reason? Again, why did God give up His glory for us? He has an inheritance in heaven for those who believe in Him! Some of you reading this may have received or may someday receive and inheritance from the death of a relative or friend, but not like this one. Our inheritance in heaven doesn’t perish, it is untainted with sin, and it is forever. We read in John 1: 14, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Jesus showed us mercy and grace and gave us His inheritance. What are we doing to thank Him?
-Aaron