JESUS CHRIST: LIGHT AND LIFE

The Bitter Cup

Jesus said, “And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.”

--Book of Mormon 3 Nephi 11:11

Jesus is the light and life of all created beings and things. His light is within every individual soul, animal, planet, the sun, the moon, star, tree, all things that were created by the Father through Jesus Christ. Jesus drunk from the bitter cup; He suffered pain and agony in Gethsemane and on the cross to glorify the Father and to fulfill the Father’s plan of salvation and exaltation. Jesus took upon himself the sins of the world from ages past to eternities to come-no ending. His atonement was infinite and eternal. His influence extends in the past to no beginning and to the future to no ending. His life and atonement is unlimited and never-ending. He is the Great Atoner.

Jesus Christ: The Lamb of God the Eternal Father

1 Nephi 13:40

“The Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved.”

Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God the Eternal Father. He is God the Father’s Son, His Only Begotten Son in the flesh. He is the one Lamb that followed His shepherd, God the Eternal Father, perfectly. He is the Savior of this world and all worlds created without number. Our finite numbering system isn’t capable of calculating the large number of worlds that have been created. The only mathematical concept that comes close to counting the number of worlds God has created is the idea of infinity: never-ending. Jesus’ atonement was infinite. The Great Atoner’s  influence reaches into infinity, endless.

Jesus is the model, the exemplar for all of us to follow and pattern our lives after. He is supreme. Seeking to improve our lives is to become more like Christ. As we are in the process of becoming more as Christ is, then we are coming unto Christ. We are coming closer to the standard of living that the Christ-like life reflects. Coming unto Christ brings us nearer the goal of eternal life, being saved. “For we know that it is by grace that we are saved after all we can do” (See 2 Nephi 25:23). The grace of Christ finally saves us. Grace is God’s help, His divine assistance. Without Him, the Lamb of God, we could not make it back home to live in His and the Father’s presence.