I was a high school student the day I met Jaylyn, a young woman that I will remember forever. I only encountered this person on one occasion. The three of us who were visiting had less than an hour with Jaylyn that day, yet, she became an unforgettable person in my life. She survived a fire seven years before we met her. I admit being taken back inwardly at first glance. Her scaring was immense. Then I saw her Bible.

I have loved my Bible from childhood, but never before had I seen one so worn. How could the book be so enlarged and seemingly frayed? Obviously, from years of being her mainstay. She must have lived within those pages that were roughed up from being so very well read.

From the moment of seeing this book, it stood fast in my mind as having been a monumental force and strength in her life. Jaylyn had found God’s great love, His strength, comfort and solace.

Self-sufficiency can keep us from the Bible. Yet, for a person who recognizes their need of God and faith, the Bible becomes the greatest of all sources for courage, tenacity and strength. What made Jaylyn different, besides the scars? How could she exude such grace and peace to us, three teenagers who came to visit? Seeing Her Bible was enough. We knew she had found Christ.

That day while being in her home, I could not know how deep and wide her influence would become for me. In a very short time–in less than two years–I would be enduring emboli as they struck my heart and lungs. Hoping and praying to stay alive, the Bible became my fortress, day and night. I came to more fully lean on the One around which Scripture swirls. Here is what the Bible reveals as the crux of the cross:

Jesus is known to be “the true Light which gives light to every person who comes into this world,” (John 1:9). John, a disciple of our Lord reveals Jesus as “the Word.” At the beginning of his writing, in verse one, John helps us see what this means:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” In verse 5, more is explained, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

The Lord came to save us from our sins, but also to teach us how God wants us to live. While here on earth, His message was received exceedingly well at first, based too, on the miracles He performed. But because of Jesus’ growing influence, those who despised Him for His growing popularity with the people built a case against Him. They used their sway with the Romans, who were the governing principal in Jerusalem, calling for Jesus’ execution. This was a practice the Roman hierarchy frequently used in their thrust for political order.

He knew it was coming! He told his disciples what would happen. He told them that He would be killed and buried, yes, but rise again in the resurrection–and that He would come again to receive us to himself for eternity. Let’s be clear as to who gets this great gift.

In only a couple of sentences, John answers that question: “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God . . .”

Jesus knew what His work would be. And, He knew He would die for what He came to the earth to accomplish. He knew that the purpose would be to shed His blood to provide a covering for the sins we commit. He taught us how to live in a kingdom that is different from the kingdom of the world—one of “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit,” (Romans 14:17). Here, we are children of God. “And, because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ,” (Galatians 4:6-7).

We gradually learn how to live into the freedom this spiritual kingdom provides. No longer slaves to our sins, we move forward into our potential of becoming more fully human, fully alive.

The purpose of Jesus’s sacrificial death is clear. It was a rescue mission! Open to all who want the light of Christ, which leads us to the Father, Creator God.