From Accusation to Belief

By Gary Silverman, CFP®

I get a bit religious this week, so if you do not want to hear it (well, read it), come back next week.

Grandmom on Mom’s side used to tell me Jews killed Christ. She did this knowing that my mom married my dad, who was Jewish; that mom converted to her husband’s faith, making her Jewish; and that her grandson (me) was raised in the Jewish religion. No, I correct that—she did it because of this and wanted to put us in our place.

At the time, I knew pretty much nothing about Jesus, but “Jesus Killer” was a label I had heard from many. I knew all the counter arguments: The Romans killed Jesus, most of Jesus’ followers were also Jewish, and Jesus was a Jew. Sure, some Jews did not seem to like him, but hey, it wasn’t our fault he’s dead.

Later in life, after I learned about Jesus, I realized it was our fault. But not “our” as in Jews, but “our” as in humanity. The blame lies on every human which ever lived and will ever live. We have sinned, fallen short in following God’s laws, and in and of ourselves ended up with no hope of redemption.

No one could have killed Jesus unless He allowed it. God is all-powerful, after all. If I was God I would have just started over (probably with dogs instead of humans, so be glad I’m not God). Instead, God the Father allowed His Son, Jesus, to be sacrificed for us. And Jesus accepted the task.

We did not need a God who would give us possessions. We did not need a God who would protect us from our enemies or be our friend. We needed a God who would be our Salvation. Familiar to many, the following Bible verse explains this.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
-John 3:16-18

The salvation we need, which I found, and you can have, is not dependent on your political party, church attendance, social beliefs, or anything else. The only thing you need is to believe in Him.

Happy Easter!