Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian,

nor does doing good deeds.

A Christian is a person who has realised that he or she does not, and can never, meet God’s standard.

Therefore they need the help of someone outside of themselves.

That’s where Jesus comes in.

Several hundreds of years before Jesus visited this planet, the prophet Isaiah foretold that someone would come who would pay the price for our wrongdoings. Isaiah said that this person would be despised, rejected, whipped and pierced and that God would lay on him everything that separated us from Himself. Jesus was God’s scapegoat - God’s sacrificial lamb. That’s what Isaiah said - "He’ll be led like a lamb to the slaughter."

Why did God bother?

Because as well as being holy, God is love.

The Trinity - God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit created mankind to share in their great love but mankind rebelled. Because Jesus died and rose again anyone who wants (like the prodigal son) can come back to God and God will welcome us back with open arms.

Our part

is to acknowledge that we’ve botched things up, thank him for what he has done to put things right and invite him into our lives.

Jesus said, "Whoever comes to me, I will in no wise cast out."