"God loves each of us as if there were only one of us” ― Augustine
Any theology worth its salt must combine a Christology from above (the Word-or eternal Logos) with a Christology from below (the Word-or eternal Logos).
To put this in practical terms, our friend is also our Savior. “He walks with us and He talks with us” is far more than just words from a song, it is a living reality. For sure, we on our own are not capable of achieving all the good things God has prepared for us but because He lives, we, too, shall live victoriously throughout all the ages that come. He conquered death, Hades, and the grave and because of Him so shall we.
For, in the final analysis, Christ is the unsurpassable, irrevocable, victorious presence of God’s grace who comes as a friend to walk alongside us throughout all of our life. This is to say that the crucified Christ and the risen Christ is the ground of our hope for eternal life because the incarnate Logos is one and the same as the Logos from above. We must not ever separate the two in our thinking for that Christ is as close as the air we breathe and we must not confuse that with our faulty imagination that at times sees Him as the Christ from afar.
Therefore, I say rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say—rejoice! (Phil. 4:4). Rejoice not in what we have achieved, but rather in what He has achieved through and for us. Only a loving God could and would do that. I am, indeed, thankful that God in His eternality made His “would” our “could” and thereby strengthened our will to accept such a lovingly and freely given salvation for us all.
This is really good news for us all—Jews, and Gentiles of every race and ethnicity; and as with the Twelve we are commissioned to “give as freely as we have received (Matt. 10:8).” Therefore, we can boldly declare to all the that eternal Logos still calls out as with Isaiah,
"Come, all of you who thirst, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk, without money and without cost (Isa. 55: 1)!”
For even if we have sold ourselves for nothing, we have been redeemed without money (Isa. 52:3). So, "Come, [He says] all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost (Isa. 55:1).”
Now, friends, this is no ordinary banquet, it is one prepared by God himself and the invitation is to all (Rev. 19:7-10; Rev. 21:17).
Now, may we all feast on the assurance of His word,
JimR_/
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