Y is for YES

I looked long and hard for a suitable word that began with a Y and would describe Jesus and his message. I considered “Yearning” but didn’t want to settle for a word to which I couldn’t say a hearty Yes . . .  . . . and when I heard my own YES, it struck me that YES was a great description of Jesus and his message. While life in general has a lot of NOs, the life of Jesus was a positive YES. Think with me on the subject.
         The triune God dwelt together in eternity past. Needing nothing, they simply enjoyed perfection. (Please accept my whimsical mood!) One day they decided to do some creating and the final product was Adam and Eve, the primal pair. This couple took the advice of Satan about a certain tree and their disobedience determined the nature of all who would follow, i.e., made in God’s image but marred by the fall. Here I am not speculating; scripture is clear about the sinful nature of man.
         Now we have a problem. Sin has entered the picture and must be dealt with. The Adam group can’t do anything about their lost condition so God has to make a decision. Only He can solve the problem, but the cost is great. Of the possible options the best (and only) would be to enter His own creation and become the sacrificial offering that would atone for man’s sin. He would have to leave the realm of eternal perfection and in the Son give his own life. A preposterous cost! So what did He do? He said YES. There is nothing more descriptive of the nature of God as He humbles Himself to meet our need. There could have been a “We’ll wait and see” or “We’ll let him get what he deserves,” but His answer was a positive and resounding YES!!! No word describes more effectively the nature of God’s response to the human condition. It is YES all the way through.
         That crucial YES has involved a number of subsequent Yeses. As Paul put it in Philippians 2:6-11:

         Will you release your “equality with God”?  YES !
         Will you “empty yourself”?   YES !!
         Will you “take on the form of a slave”?  YES !!!
         Will you become “like other men”?  YES !!!!
         Will you “share in [their] human nature”? YES !!!!!
 
         So the Son “humbled himself . . . became obedient to the point of death . . . even death on a cross.” Those were the most important affirmations ever spoken. Jesus Christ was God’s YES. The Good News is that when we recognize our alienation from God and turn to Him in faith, He says a pleased YES with the result that we spend eternity with Him in paradise. Now that is good news.