God no longer sees my sin when He looks at me; He sees Jesus' perfection, instead. I am now free to live a life without fear, and free to get to know the One who created me and loves me more than anyone else in the universe.

Many prophets and teachers like Mohammed or Buddha may have good insight, but they could never repair the issue at the heart of the world’s problems, which is sin. Only a perfect sacrifice could be a substitute for all that is imperfect in us and in our world.

The simple answer to that is yes, He is! If you believe Jesus died on the cross and rose three days later, then it is true that He overcame death, something no one else has ever done, and therefore is not still dead but alive (Acts 1:3).

One of the main questions I bet you’re asking is, “If God is so just AND so loving, why do bad things happen to good people?” This one’s even tougher, but the answer to this question really goes back to the problem of sin.

Jesus is the only way to spend your afterlife with God; the only way. (John 14:6). Because Jesus is alive, He promises us that we will be raised from the dead, too (1 Corinthians 15:22). This should make Jesus important to you.

The act of Jesus coming back to life (the resurrection) is what paved the way for us to have a relationship with God and live in freedom from sin and death.

Jesus promises that He won’t just make the mess go away. He is going to make it right.

The earth is no longer the place God created it to be. Loved ones die, disease wracks our bodies, and injustice prevails. The earth and all that is on it has now been corrupted and remains in a state of brokenness. All of this is because of sin.

We were created to be in a close relationship with God and to bring glory and honor to God. Yet because of sin, you and I are dead, spiritually dead. We are lost, meaning that we’re not living out the purpose we were created to fulfill.

“Having a personal relationship with Jesus” may seem like an odd concept. After all, we can’t see Him. He doesn’t go to work every day or physically gather with friends and family over the dinner table. I’m unable to text Him, follow His Twitter account, or friend Him on Facebook.

He knows what it’s like to be us…with all the joys and pains of living in a fallen, crazy, broken world. And He promises to be with us in the midst of the ups and downs of life, offering hope and peace and meaning and the ability to love freely and live fully.

Just like us, Jesus had parents and siblings, ate lunch with friends, worked, slept, and was tempted to sin. He was completely human. Unlike us He was completely human AND completely God, born of the union between a woman (Mary, a virgin) and the Holy Spirit.