Suppose you were in a relationship with someone. This was not a casual relationship but a serious, intimate one. Then, that person did something to offend you. It was not something minor, but something serious. What would you do? How could you restore the relationship?
When God created Adam and Eve He was in a serious, intimate relationship with them. Then, they did something that offended Him. They disobeyed Him by eating the forbidden fruit. The Bible calls this “sin.” Anytime we think, do, or say anything that God forbids, we sin. This destroys the relationship we have with Him. God went to extreme lengths to restore the relationship. He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us so the relationship could be restored.
The Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, says sins cause a separation between humans and God. Isaiah 59:2 says, “Your iniquities (sins) have made a separation between you and your God.”
The wisest man on earth, King Solomon, said in Ecclesiastes 7:20, “There is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and never sins.”
The Apostle Paul continued that thought in his letter to the Romans. Romans 3:23 says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Step #1 in the quest to having the relationship with God restored is to realize and acknowledge that I am a sinner and have offended Him. This broken relationship is my fault.
Step #2 is to understand that the only way to have this relationship with God restored is through Jesus. In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The Apostle Paul follows up on this thought in 1 Timothy 2:5-6, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”
Step #3 is to believe that Jesus paid the price for our sins. Romans 5:8 says, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Step #4 is to receive Jesus. John 1:11-12 says, “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Jesus wants to be part of your life. Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”
Receiving Jesus is done through prayer and submission. The following is a sample prayer that can be used by the person who sincerely wants to restore their relationship with God and receive the gift of eternal life:
Dear Jesus, I have come to understand that I am a sinner and that these sins are keeping me from having the relationship with you that I was created for. I am sincerely sorry for them and want our relationship restored and to receive the gift of eternal life. Please forgive me of my sins. I now repent of them and turn to You. I truly believe that You are my only hope, my only means of entering heaven. I now receive You as my personal Savior. Please come into my life. Amen.
Note: asking Jesus into your life is kind of like standing at the altar and saying, “I do.” It is entering into a love relationship with Jesus.
If you were sincere when you prayed, then your sins have been forgiven, and your relationship with God has been restored. He says you now have eternal life:
And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
1 John 5:11-13
Not only do you now have eternal life, but you are a new creation. It is a new you:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17