Example Sent from God

Before Jesus came, darkness had covered the earth, and that same darkness covered the hearts of its people. The darkness was so heavy upon this earth that God could hardly discern His image reflected in people—this darkness was almost universal.

It was urgent and necessary that a teacher be sent from God to this earth, a teacher in whom the divine and the human would be united. It was important that Christ should appear in human form and be the head of humanity to uplift the degenerate human beings, and by this method only could God be revealed to this world.

The Christ wasn’t forced on Jesus. To be the sacrifice for this fallen human race, He volunteered to lay aside His prerogatives of God and come to earth and show human beings that they can cooperate in partnership with God. Jesus came to shine in the darkness and to displace the darkness with the brightness of His presence.

From eternity past, a decision was made among the Trinity. The decision was that Jesus must come to this world as a baby and live the life that human beings must live from childhood to adulthood, bearing all of the trials that humans must bear. But at the same time, He must live a life void of sin so that human beings might see Jesus as an example they can become and that Jesus might know by experience how to help them with their struggles and sin.

Jesus was tried as humans are tried. Jesus was tempted as humans are tempted. The life that He lived in this world, human beings can live through His power and under His tutelage.

Our biblical ancestors predicted the coming of a distinguished teacher whose words were to be clothed with power and authority. He was to preach the Gospel, the Good News, to the poor and proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord—the year of jubilee. He was to set judgment in the earth in defense of the oppressed, and the Gentiles would come to His light. Kings would come to the brightness of His rising.

Jesus was the messenger of the covenant of God. The healing of partnership with God. The Son of righteousness. It was just in time that God sent His Son, the heavenly teacher, to come. Who was He? No less than the Son of God Himself. He showed Himself as God and, at the same time, our older brother.

What Jesus taught, He lived. What Jesus taught, He was. His words were the expression of His life and His character. Not only did He teach truth, but He was at His core the truth, and it was this authenticity that gave this teacher His power. Galatians 4:4-5 sums this idea up by saying: “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.”

Friends, that can be your experience today. You can experience Jesus shining His light of truth into the darkness of your heart. You may not think that you can be a child of God. You may think that you’ve done too much and that God could never forgive you. But God sent His son Jesus so that you can be called a child of God again.

All you must do is just let Him transform your heart. Give your life to Jesus today. And you will see the most beautiful light shining and dispelling the darkness of your heart and your life.

Pastor Anthony Nix

Anthony serves as the Pastor For Anderson Seventh-day Adventist Church in Anderson, IN. A charismatic communicator with a message that motivates discipleships to Jesus, Anthony teaches on a variety of topics, emphasizing God’s unfailing love and His desire to be in relationship with His creation. He is a graduate of Southern Adventist University. Anthony and his wife Nayeli have three beautiful and loving children.