When I was a youngster growing up, I came to realize that to accomplish anything you had to figure out the details of what you were trying to do and kind of develop a plan and set a goal in order to be successful at the things you’re trying to get done. Both knowledge and a plan are necessary to succeed. Maybe you have come to that conclusion too.

Then as I grew older I realized that I needed a plan for living that I might be successful in that too but I could not quite figure out the formula for success or so I thought. What I have come to realize, after many years, is that success in life begins and ends in Jesus Christ. If you have not figured that out yet, I hope that you will. Jesus tells us "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Matt 16:26)

Our main goal in life must be to save our own soul. Anything else is failure and totally unacceptable. Unacceptable because the plan has already been made and delivered to us by God through the Bible. Unacceptable because Jesus has demonstrated, in the most dramatic terms possible, how much He cares for us and how much He wants us to succeed in this the greatest of all enterprises.

Jesus Christ must, and I cannot emphasize this strongly enough, He must really want us to make it to heaven and have eternal life. Consider this person we call Jesus and what He has done for us. He was in the beginning with God, He was God and the Father through Jesus created everything that was created, the heavens and the earth and us too (John 1). Jesus even now watches over us and holds this world in store for His final coming (2 Pet 3:7).

For these accomplishments alone we owe Jesus our very existence but our debt to Him does not end there. Jesus, who had everything, was willing to give it up, to leave heaven and be born as a man. Who would be willing to do that? I cannot imagine it. Yet He was willing to do far more. For thirty three years He lived as a poor servant of humanity and not as their creator. His last three years here, He had no certain place to call home. He taught the way to eternal life suffering rejection by the very people He loved and cared about the most, the Jews. And even though He had no fault in Him, no sin, He allowed Himself to be nailed to a tree and suffer a slow torturous death so we might be forgiven of our wrong doing. How much does Jesus care for us? He has demonstrated just how much He cares. I can not imagine any act that He might have done which would have shown His love and concern for us any more than what He has done.

Where does this leave those who have no appreciation for this man we call Jesus. As it stands they are failures, doomed to the eternal fires of hell and reasonably so. Jesus has made every possible effort to save us from our own failure and even beyond what is reasonable. Jesus said "Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest unto your souls" (Matt 11:29). I urge you, behold the Man, He is our success. All else is failure.

Send comments or questions to the Clintwood Church of Christ, POB 746, Clintwood, Va. 24228 or E-mail me at bryanwa@ntelos.net

Check out our web page at clintwoodchurchofchrist.com