These questions go to the very heart of our human story — the story of who we are, what went wrong, and how God’s love came to heal it.
When we look honestly at our world and our own hearts, we see both beauty and brokenness. We were created in God’s image — made for love, for goodness, for communion with Him — yet something deep within us has gone astray. We see it in our selfishness, our pride, our fear, and the ways we hurt one another. The Bible calls this reality sin — not merely bad actions, but a wounded relationship with God Himself.
From the very beginning, humanity turned away from the One who gave us life. When Adam and Eve chose independence over trust, they didn’t just break a rule — they broke communion. And that separation from God is what the Church calls “spiritual death.” We still live, breathe, and feel, but something in us is missing. We sense it whenever our hearts cry out for meaning or when we realize that no pleasure or success can fill the emptiness within.
But God did not abandon us. Out of love, He began a plan of salvation — not to destroy sinners, but to rescue them. In Jesus Christ, God Himself entered our fallen world to bridge the great divide between heaven and earth. As St. Paul writes, “God proves His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Through His death and resurrection, Jesus broke the power of sin and opened the way back to the Father.
Salvation, then, is not simply about being “good enough” to go to heaven. It is about being healed, forgiven, and restored to the life we were meant to live — life in communion with God. When we receive Christ in faith and allow His grace to work within us, we begin to live as new creations. His Spirit renews our hearts, teaching us how to love again.
So yes — humanity needs to be saved, not because God is cruel, but because He is love. He longs to set us free from everything that keeps us from Him. Salvation is His gift, offered to every soul who dares to believe that grace is greater than sin.
May we never tire of rediscovering this mercy — that in Jesus, we are not lost forever, but lovingly found.
— Fr. John Matthew, for Christian Way
