The profile of a perfect child.

Published: March 13, 2016, 10 a.m.

So often the impression is given that our relationship with God is mainly about all the ways in which we need to change and that salvation is dependent upon self-improvement. Thankfully, God has provided a substitute for self-improvement. Rather than change, he offers an exchange: our sin, guilt, and death for his holiness, innocence, and life. This week, we hear Jesus remind us that salvation for the world comes from an unexpected place. Just as a seed must first fall to the ground before it can produce a great tree, so Jesus’ had to die in order to bring life to mankind.