I know the greatest story of all. I do not boast with conceit, for I do not consider myself to be the most qualified to tell of this story. Nevertheless, I know it. It is the greatest because it is the truest, proclaiming a longed for hope for all of mankind and the entire universe.
This story begins with an artist. An artist possessing many names, the most all-inclusive being I Am. This artist named I Am existed before time began, existed before anything else began. He was the origin of all life, of all meaning and purpose. He was the Three-in-one, living in intimate fellowship as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He was fulfilled—he had no needs, though his heart was bursting with desires. He was so happy with his intimacy in relationship that he just had to give it away, to share it. He was an artist, after all, so in divine creativity he made something that never existed before—the galaxies and the Earth. He took great delight in creating so many different elements, species, and forms of life, with so many different colors, shapes, designs, textures, and purposes.
But his most prized creation was man.
Man would share in the sweet fellowship belonging to the Three-in-one. Man was made in the very image of I Am. Man would have a deeper purpose, a higher greatness, than he himself could even know.
But there existed evil. I Am did not create it—it was the disobedient choice of a high-ranking heavenly being who allowed pride to steal his devotion to the Originator. Lucifer was his name. Lucifer, now embodying evil itself, needed somewhere to spend his passions, his unfulfilled desires. So he chose I Am’s favorite creation, man, to corrupt.
Sadly, man fell for the deceptive beauty of Lucifer in Paradise, where he was tempted to disobey I Am’s single command. The one evil act led to another, and another, until man’s appetite for evil seemed to overtake his desire for intimacy with his Creator. The world was corrupted, and Lucifer thought he won the great battle.
But it was only the beginning.
I Am could not bear to be separated from his prized creation because of their evil choices. He was Love itself, unwilling to relent his deep passion for sharing his intimacy and fellowship. So he did the most painful, most humble thing of all—he sent the Son to become a man, from birth to death, fully man, yet fully the great I Am. His name was Jesus Christ.
He came to identify with man, to love the ones who hungered for evil, to teach the ways of the Father, to remind man of his original identity and destiny to walk with the Creator, to truly live. But man did not understand or refused to accept the teachings of I Am’s Son. Because it did not make sense to them that I Am would appear in human form they rejected his life-giving message and sentenced him to die.
But you see, it was I Am’s plan all along. There must be blood to atone for man’s sinful nature. It was the only way for man to again live in fellowship with the Creator. So The Father allowed the Son to be crucified, and to bear the burden of every sin in his own soul. I Am himself, the perfect one who always was, took man’s share of shame, blame, and punishment, just so he could be with him forever. But it was not the end.
Jesus rose from the grave, proclaiming victory and hope for generations of men to come. It is a high cost to follow I Am, but an even higher one to not. For what can we do when we know what it is we were created for? Is he worth everything to us? Can’t we give him everything we have, after he spent everything for us? It is truly the least we can do.
The story continues. Step in and discover your role.
