Right before my tenth birthday, I heard the gospel for the first time.
It was a crisp fall evening in a white stucco church in my tiny home town.
The traveling evangelist shared a message that captured my heart.
He said that I was a sinner destined for Hell, but God loved me and provided a way to keep that from happening.
He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to pay off my sin debt by dying on the cross in my place.
He quoted John 3:16: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (NASB).
When I heard the “God so loved the world” part, it was as if God zoomed in on me, causing me to hear, “Kim, I love you so much that I died on the cross for you, so that you could spend forever in Heaven with Me.”
He personalized John 3:16 so that I wouldn’t hear it as if I was just clumped together with the billions of others whom “God so loved.”
Jesus died for me, Kimberly Kay Hamilton, daughter of Jim and Kay Hamilton from Mobeetie, Texas.
It was like He was saying, “Kim, if you would have been the only sinner on this earth, I would have endured the cross just for you.”
The tangible love I felt that night drew me to an altar where I prayed with a nice church lady and asked Jesus to come live in my heart.
I now realize that I understood only part of the gospel that night: Jesus died for me.
Since then, I’ve learned so much more about Christ’s finished work on the cross on my behalf—all because of His great love for me (John 19:28–30; Rom. 5:8).
I’ve learned that, not only did Jesus die for me, but He literally died in my place.
I was a sinner, separated from a holy God and my sins deserved punishment (Ex. 34:7; Num. 14:18; Isa. 64:6; Rom. 3:23; 6:23).
But Jesus didn’t want me to suffer the punishment for my sins.
Instead, He literally took my place on the cross, substituting Himself for me (Isa. 53:5–6; Rom. 5:8; 2 Cor. 5:14; 1 Thess. 5:9–10; 1 Pet. 2:24).
So, not only did Jesus die for me, He died in my place, because of His great love for me.
What about you, dear reader?
Has Jesus’ death on the cross become personal to you?
Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died on the cross to take away your sins (John 3:16; Romans 5:8)?
Do you believe that He rose again to give you eternal life in Him? (Rom. 5:10; 1 Pet. 1:3).
Have you called on His name to be saved, opening the door of your life to Him? (Rom. 10:13; Rev. 3:20).
If you answered yes to the previous three questions, then you can rest assured that you have eternal life in Christ (1 John 5:13).
If Jesus were to personally speak what I have just shared with you, it might sound something like this:
“My joy, I long for you to understand the splendid significance of what I did on your behalf at the cross.”
“I was pierced through for everything you’ve ever done and ever will do wrong.”
“The sins of your lifetime were literally taken away from you (just as if you had never committed them) and transferred into My body (just as if I were the One who committed them).”
“And then I allowed Myself to be punished—beaten, bruised, broken, and slaughtered—so that you could be forever made whole.”
“This may be difficult for you to comprehend, but I loved you even before you were born.”
“Before one thought of Me entered your mind.”
“Before you could do anything to merit My love.”
“And I was right there loving you when you committed the worst, most shameful (in your mind) sin of your life.”
“Yes, your sin was great, but My grace is greater than all your sin.”
“I love you, no matter what you do or don’t do.”
“And there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“It is what it is.”
“I AM who I AM.”
“I am unconditional love, and nobody will ever love you like I love you.”
“You are the love of My life!”
“Anticipating the joy of eternal union with you was how I endured the horrifying violence of the cross.”
“I paid the ultimate price so that we could be joined together forever in love.”
“And if I had to, I would go through it all over again to capture your heart.”
“But I don’t have to.”
“Once was enough to secure our happily forever after!”
(Jesus’ spoken words and Scripture list is an excerpt from my book, Fifty Days in His Pursuing Love Devotional.)
After taking time to soak your mind in the truths I shared in this post, I invite you to read “What Happened at the Cross, Part 2.”
When I learned what I share with you in Part 2, I began savoring my relationship with Christ.
I no longer viewed myself as a dirty worm and could finally see myself as the beautiful new creation in Christ that I became when I first believed!
*If this post resonated with you, I think you might enjoy all of my books where I share the undiluted, unpolluted love and grace of God.
Great blog Kim!!
Thanks, Brad!