Why Jesus?

Why would anyone choose to believe in Jesus and become one of His followers?

Even though this is a deeply personal decision, it is one that has a profound influence on our lives, the lives of those around us, and the society in which we live. Choosing to follow Jesus will change you – and everything connected to your life!

Here are some reasons why we believe in Jesus.

Jesus was never created – He was always there, and always will be. 

He created the whole universe and everything in it. If you look closer at what He made, you will see genius – from the intricate workings of an atom to the growth and reproduction of a tree, to the complex interactions of the stars, planets and galaxies – all of these demonstrate an immeasurable intellect. 

You will see creativity – why create a million differently designed butterflies, when one would have been sufficient? Why create strange creatures in a jungle that might be seen by only a handful of people? 

The rich diversity and complexity of our world tells us of a great God!

Face it: every one of us has accumulated a list of things that we regret, mistakes we have made, people we have offended, bad things that we have done at some point, or good things that we should have done, but lacked courage in the moment to do. All of these are rooted in our inherent selfishness – we want to be our own gods, and carefully control and protect our context! We can try and hide them, bury them or run away from them – but they will always be there, coming up in our weaker moments, demanding a solution from us.

Jesus, even though He is God, came to earth and lived as a human, and so faced the same life challenges that we do. But He never succumbed to the pressure! He had compassion on us all, and gave Himself as a target for all the justice that needed to be fulfilled. He took on the full punishment for all our failures and died in a gruesome, humiliating, pain-filled way.

God, as the Supreme Judge of the Universe, offers us a deal: we can accept the judgement and punishment that was given to Jesus and turn away from living the selfish lives we have been living. Or, we can face the judgement ourselves and answer for ourselves.

Through Jesus we receive forgiveness for the messes we have made. But more than this, He gives us the power to live differently and not go around on the same wheel of life, repeating our failures. How does he do this?

After dying for us, He rose again from the dead! The requirements of justice were fulfilled, all the failure and bad deeds were swept away, and Jesus started again to set His world (that we have thoroughly messed up) in order.

Jesus invites us to partner with Him in this great restoration work. Firstly, we stop doing messy, selfish things. Then we start fixing what is broken. Jesus, as designer and creator, gives us all the resources, strategies and power that we need to do this. He walks with us and teaches us the next step. He enables us to do difficult things and overcome hard challenges.

Jesus also connects us to a huge community of people around the world, who have embarked on the same adventure! Everyone is on a journey, and every person has a unique story to tell of how Jesus changed them. We gain courage from one another, and we join together to achieve what seems impossible.

Jesus gives relief from the pain of past, peace to live in the present turmoil and hope for the future. Because He is God with personality and character, He opens the way for us to build a relationship with Him – we can actually get to know Him, His ways, and the things that make Him excited!

Why not start by asking a Jesus-follower for their story? Find out why they follow Jesus and how Jesus changed their lives.

You can also ask and directly speak to Jesus and tell Him what’s on your mind. Take some time to be on your own – in a quiet room, or in a park or on a forest path. You may want to say something like this to Jesus (but say it your own words!):

"Jesus, I am sorry for the mess I have made of my life and for how this has damaged the people and the world around me. I believe that you took the punishment that I should have received, and I want to accept your offer for forgiveness and restoration. Please change me completely so that I don’t repeat the mistakes of the past. I submit completely to your authority, and want you to be my Lord and King. Please enroll me in your plan to restore and repair both your incredible creation and the amazing peoples who live in it. Please include me in the community of people who are joined to this great purpose. Please give me the power to turn away from my selfishness, and enable me to live differently – I know I don’t have this power in myself. Please expand my vision to see what you are doing, and implant in me the willingness to be part of this. Thank you!"

Feel free to ask us anything about our faith in Jesus!