S is for SAVIOUR part 2

So God had to find a way to forget the past but somebody had to lead the people back to paradise. Who better than God himself. After all, He knew the way. The truth is that God always knew what was going to happen, He knew He would have to intervene in the situation so He revealed what He was going to do many times before, in the writings of Isaiah, in the story of Boaz and Ruth, in Abraham's personal willingness to sacrifice his son - but Israel didn't see the significance or else they didn't want to. But the time had come, there would be no more waiting and so He did what He had to do.

Young Mary was surprised if not a little shocked, but she shouldn't have been. She should have checked her husband's family tree which could be traced all the way back to Adam and that promise. I suppose she never thought it could happen to her and of course she knew the child she was carrying couldn't be there by any earthly means because of her virginity. Yet in their bewilderment, Joseph and her coped well though it was unfortunate, that because of the census, most likely the baby would be born away from home. Yet they needn't have worried for God couldn't have been any closer throughout it all. And when he was born, who should be the first non-family members to see the baby but a group of ordinary shepherds. A bit ironic that, as this child would someday be like a shepherd, leading His flock!

So this was His plan all along. To come and live among His people, in the human form as His own Son and show them the way back to paradise. And through His words, His compassion, His complete obedience, His healing power and His ability to forgive anything wrong that had been done, the Son convinced many that He was God in human form and those who believed grew in number. But others who had made their own rules to live by could never accept His interference in their lives, so they killed Him on a cross even though He had done absolutely nothing wrong.

That would be the end of the story, except that when they went to check His burial place a couple of days later, He wasn't there, though all His grave clothes were neatly piled and the guards had seen nobody at the tomb since he was placed there. Later, when He showed up, alive and well to some of His followers, any doubts that they had seen a ghost were put to bed when they saw the nail marks in His hands and feet. Before He left for paradise to be with His Father, the son, Jesus, told His followers to spread the news that He was alive but also that He would return some day, when He chose, and bring all His followers back to paradise. Until then, He needed some time to get the accommodation ready. Still, He wouldn't leave them all alone and what better way than to leave His own Spirit in every follower so that they would know how He would have acted in every situation, how He kept obeying His Father and of course how to resist the dark angel that He called the devil. So now they had a Saviour, who had overcome death had the keys to open the door to paradise and with it, God no longer had any need to punish people for doing wrong. The way to heaven, the paradise, where He now lived, was now open - except for one small condition. You have to believe the story!