And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. 2 Cor. 5:18.

Redemption is through Christ. We could never have known God's love unless He had come to earth. God stooped down in order that we might draw near to Him. Love and salvation invaded our world and our lives. God in human flesh came close to us so that we might put our hands on His face, as it were. "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). Jesus is love on the move from heaven to us. He is the Son of God, sent from the Father, who has broken in upon this lost world, our one hope for our restoration to God. He did not come simply to tell us about God. He brought God, for He is God. We need no longer live in a state of alienation or despair.

The coming of Jesus Christ has eternal consequences for our lives. Therefore He is to us the "bread of life," "the Way, the Truth, and the Life," "the Light of the world," "the Shepherd of the flock," "the King of kings," "the Sun of Righteousness with healing in his wings." He is righteous love, who will never let us go, who yearns to restore us to His own likeness. He has given Himself to us at the cost of His own life, to be the life of our lives. Our religion of redemption is not our search for a better life. It is our complete response to the God of heaven who comes searching for us.

Finally, redemption means not only that Christ must come to the earth to find us but to suffer and die for us. No one else could redeem us. Only a member of the Godhead could reveal and confess to the universe the eternal love of God for man, and reveal at the same time Their willingness to bear sin's penalty rather than to execute it upon us. Here the inmost nature of man's sinfulness is revealed. The cross is the center of all human history, the supreme crisis of God and man. His death was for us. We cannot forgive ourselves. We deserve to die. From the cross God speaks to us: "You can spit in My face. You can place a crown of thorns upon My head. You can nail Me to a cross. But you cannot stop My loving you. There is no way."