What stands out to me most about the life of Jesus of Nazareth is not simply what He taught, but how His love is revealed through His sovereign, providential hand guiding our lives toward a redemptive end. When I read Scripture, I see that His love is not abstract sentiment; it is purposeful, patient, and active, directing even suffering and injustice toward a result that honors God and brings life to others. Jesus’ own life shows this clearly. He did not avoid suffering; He walked through it with obedience and trust in the Father. In doing so, He revealed the heart of God, a love that forgives, redeems, and transforms what seems tragic into something eternally meaningful. When He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34), He was not excusing evil; He was demonstrating that divine mercy can coexist with human injustice and overcome it.
One of the earliest biblical pictures of this providential love is found in the life of Joseph. What his brothers intended for evil, God intended for good, “to save many people alive” (Genesis 50:20). Joseph’s suffering was not wasted. It became the means by which God preserved His covenant people. When I look at Joseph’s story through the lens of Christ, I see the same redemptive pattern: betrayal, suffering, unjust suffering, and then salvation flowing outward to others. That same trajectory appears in the New Testament in the account of Stephen, the first martyr of the church (Acts 7). As stones struck his body, Stephen echoed the mercy of Christ: “Lord, do not charge them with this sin” (Acts 7:60). Yet even in that moment of violence, God was at work. Those who stoned Stephen laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul, the very man who would later become the Apostle Paul, through whom God would spread the gospel across the Roman world and inspire a significant portion of the New Testament. What looked like defeat was part of a sovereign design. Stephen’s faithfulness became a witness that echoed far beyond his death.
When I step back and look at these lives, Joseph, Stephen, Paul, I see a pattern: God weaves suffering, obedience, and mercy together to accomplish purposes far beyond what any one person can see in the moment. That pattern ultimately finds its fulfillment in Christ Himself, who is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15) and the one in whom the Father is fully revealed (John 14:9–11). But what makes this truth most compelling to me is not only what I see in Scripture; it is what I recognize in my own life. There were seasons when darkness seemed overwhelming, and I believed life was not worth living another day. Yet looking back, I can see that I was not abandoned. God carried me when I could not walk, preserved me when I could not see a future, and prepared me through hardship for the person I am and the work I now do. What once felt like chaos now appears as careful preparation.
Because of that, when I am asked what is most remarkable about the life of Jesus, my answer is deeply personal: His love, grace, and mercy did not remain distant truths. They pursued me. His sovereign hand guided my life through pain, confusion, and brokenness toward a purpose that I might honor Him with my life. I do not believe I would have come to Him any other way than the way He brought me. And that realization fills me with humility and gratitude. The same Lord who guided Joseph, sustained Stephen, transformed Saul into Paul, and revealed the Father through His own suffering has patiently guided me. That, to me, is astonishing. The life of Jesus reveals a love that does not merely comfort us; it redeems us, reshapes us, and leads us toward a life that reflects His glory, even through suffering, even through loss, and ultimately, through grace.
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