Jesus is the God-Connector for Us and for the World, so Let's bring Him to Them (1 Tim. 2.3b-6)

I Timothy 2.3b-6

^3bGod our Savior, ⁴Who wants all human beings to be saved and to come to understand the truth: The truth being,

            There is Only One God

            There is also Only One Mediator of God and human beings,

            A human being, the Messiah, Jesus,

            The One Who gave Himself as a ransom for all people

            This is the official statement of facts for our own times.

As we move towards Good Friday and Easter, we can prepare our heart to enjoy and be transformed by this special period of reflection. There are two sides that we should be thinking about: 1) What Jesus’ death and resurrection means for us; 2) What Jesus’ death and resurrection calls us to do.

What it means for us is simple: salvation, a true knowledge and relationship with God. Jesus’ death is the way we are saved. God wants us to know that, but He wants us to know more than just facts. He wants us to truly understand and cling to Person those facts reveal: Jesus.

Jesus fixed the problems we didn’t even know that we had. We didn’t know that we were knowing lies not the truth, and we didn’t know that our relationship with God was garbage, that actually we owed God a debt greater than we could ever pay, that we were in a sense prisoners of a war we didn’t even know we were fighting in, slaves who thought we were freed.

We didn’t know God, and couldn’t really know Him. So Jesus stepped in. He connected us to God. He was the friend that introduced us to our Father. He is our Connector, or Facilitator. He is the One Who makes our relationship with God possible.

How did He do that? He became a man. Jesus, God, to be our Relationship Facilitator became a human being. And He paid our debt. Our debt to God. See, we were marked for hell, in chains, heading there with no freedom in sight, but Jesus paid our debt. He took our place. He paid the fee. He did it for everyone. Jesus, just like God the Father, longs for all people to be saved. And it fact is because they are in agreement that Jesus came to save us from the hell God was going to imprison us in forever.

However, what it calls us to do, is to share this official statement with the world. A lot of times, we tell ourselves, that people don’t want or don’t really need to know the truth, to understand the Good News that Jesus connects us to God because He paid our debt to God. The passage says this is “an official statement of facts for our own times.” It is an official statement for our times. Our times means that people today still need to know Who God is, Who Jesus is, and what Jesus did and does for them.

No matter how much it looks or feels like people don’t need or want to know, it does not change that at the most profound level they NEED to hear and embrace this official statement for them. It is for them. It is for us. It is for all human beings. We have to take it to them, or they will not be saved. Jesus is the Mediator, but He only works on behalf of those who embrace Him with full faith for all He is and has done for them. So, let’s take it to them. Easter makes it easier to talk about Jesus, because it provides opportunities for discussion and even invitation.

So let’s embrace this truth today by remembering Who Jesus is and What He has done and is doing for us, and by sharing this truth with everyone as God provides opportunities, because they need to be saved, and because God wants to save them.