Paul and Silas said to the Philippian jailer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved–you and your household” (Acts 16:31, NIV).“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12, NIV). “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, Salvation, in its fullness, is God’s new creation. To save us, He remakes us in His likeness — a lifelong process requiring our cooperation — so that we can once again think and love as He thinks and loves. This process finds its completion only in heaven, where eternal life is enjoyed in perfect harmony with Him.

Why did God create us in the first place? He made us in certain ways like himself, able to think and choose, so we could be sons and daughters who live in friendship with Him. God created us for himself, for nothing less than to know, love, serve and enjoy Him — now and forever.

Through sin, however, we’ve rebelled against God and rejected His friendship. As a result, His likeness in us has been marred, and we’ve separated ourselves from Him. Since He’s the Source of all that’s good. Because God loved us so much, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from such a terrible fate. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus offer us, through the forgiveness of our sins, escape from eternal punishment. But that’s not all. He also reconciles us to God, opening the door to a full restoration of our friendship with Him.

In this way, Jesus begins the process of a complete renewal of God’s likeness in us, a healing of the brokenness that comes from sin

Do you believe with all your heart? Have you committed your life completely to Christ? Is He yours? Have you said, “I want Christ to be my Lord and my Master and my Savior”? Make your commitment to Christ right now.