“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:6-8 NLT)
Would you be willing to die for someone who murdered your spouse or kidnapped your child and sold them into slavery? Forgive me for the shocking examples, but unless and until you realize that, given the right circumstances, you are capable of anything anyone else in history has done and worse, you won’t fully appreciate the sacrifice Jesus made when He gave His sinless life in your place on the Cross.
David Jeremiah wrote: “It’s a hypothetical question with no fixed answer, and in Romans 5:6-7 Paul raised the question to set up a stark contrast. He said that hypothetically someone might die so that a righteous person might live—though it would be rare for someone to do that. If it would be rare to die for a righteous person, it would be unheard of for someone to die for a sinful, evil person. And yet that is what Christ did.”
Think about that for a minute! I’m writing this post on a Sunday afternoon. I left for church a little after 7:00 a.m. so that I could serve as a Greeter at one of our entrances. After the message the Pastor invited people to come forward for prayer. There was an elderly woman who was making her way down the stairs to go forward, but it was apparent she was struggling. Being the observant and caring specimen that I am I ignored her, but my wife noted that she needed help, so I “volunteered.” I helped her to the front of the church, then waited and walked with her back to her family.
Some people who saw me do that would conclude that I was a kind and selfless person, not knowing if it hadn’t been for my wife’s “suggestion” I would likely have let her struggle on her own. What’s my point? We tend to think of others we see at church, in small group meetings, etc. as better than they really are. Men that I consider good “men of God,” struggle with lust, porn, alcohol, drugs, and other debilitating addictions – not so much in their behavior, but in their minds.
There are people in my life who might die for me, but they’d be making a mistake – I don’t deserve their sacrifice. Neither do you deserve the sacrifice of someone who loves you dying in your place. None of us do, that’s the point. Yet, Jesus, not when He saw us at our best, but at our worst, laid down His life to give us a shot, not simply at a “better life,” but a perfect life with Him in heaven – the absolute LAST place we ever deserve to be!
My gratitude to Jesus doesn’t emanate from my goodness, it shouts forth from my wretchedness. The Lord said to the Church in Laodicea in Revelation 3:17: “You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.”
My purpose isn’t to tear you down, it’s to build you up in Jesus. Unless and until you see Jesus for the magnificent Savior He is you can’t and won’t give Him the adoration, praise, and worship He alone deserves. You’ll feel confident you’re a good person who doesn’t really need much from Him, not the blatant sinner who is capable of atrocities your mind can’t even imagine.
Never forget you are a sinner saved by grace, not because you deserve it, but because you don’t!
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed
Walking With Jesus 