Romans 5:1-2 (ESV) Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

The incredible, powerful thing about God is He doesn’t make plans or decide things randomly. He knew who you were before you were born! Psalm 139:16. “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

He has been at the center since the very beginning. When we reflect on the significance of what Jesus was sent to accomplish, we understand the importance of sharing the good news with others. You play a crucial role in spreading the Kingdom of God! Your story brings hope and can inspire others to see and experience this truth. Now, let’s take a look at the hope found in Jesus’s story.

I can’t imagine how the disciples felt on that Friday when they watched Jesus die; the overwhelming loss of hope and gripping fear. Jesus, the one who was supposed to come and be the figure that changed everything… was dead?

They didn’t know what the future held. Everything had to feel cold and dark. Matthew 27:45 says, “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness all over the land until the ninth hour.” Even nature was acknowledging the darkness. How scary that must have been! Cold and darkness are spreading worldwide every day. Things seem hopeless, like there is no space for restoration.

The disciples, watching Jesus die and the darkness hover, must have also felt restoration was impossible. The disciples did not know what was coming in a few days. We at this current time don’t know what the next few days, weeks, and months hold. Still, the resurrection signifies there is always hope in the darkness. There will always be a resurrection in our lives! New life. New hope. New goodness. This is the hope we are bringing to others! We might not know what the future looks like, but the disciples sure didn’t. We might not know how long we have to go through difficult and scary times, but Jesus changed our story. We can play a part in people’s lives being changed and lives being renewed! We can remind a broken world that because of Jesus’s death, this is not the final chapter.

Just like the disciples, we are now disciples of Christ, and we get to share how Jesus’s story became, inviting others to come into the King of grace. 

·Jesus is the center of life (the owner of this life), the center of ministry (the owner of the ministry), and the source of strength (the One who gives us the ability to serve).