My devotion today hit me hard.
The realization of who I really am and what God has done for me became very real this morning.
Many times I take for granted what Christ actually did for me....I know He died for me and took on my sin....but do I really get that, do I really understand how huge that is.
I don't think so.
But I got a fresh glimpse of it this morning and I'd like to share it with you...
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Cor 5:21
This very should startle us and cause us to tremble. It is not a verse to be read quickly and passed over. As Christians we are grateful to be forgiven of our sins. We are thankful we have been adopted as God's children. Yet we will never comprehend the awesome price that Jesus paid to cleanse us of our sin and to give us His righteousness. How abhorrent was it for the sinless Son of God to have every sin of humanity placed upon Him? What love was required for the Father to watch His only Son bear the excruciating pain of our sin upon the cross?
The prophet Isaiah summarized the human condition: "We are all like an unclean thing,/ And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags" (Isa 64:6) Even the high priest, Joshua, in his exalted position among God's people, was clothed in filthy rags before God (Zech 3:3) The apostle Paul, who labored arduously to be righteous before God, realized that his most strenuous efforts to please God were no more valuable than rubbish (phil 3:4-10) The plight of humanity is that nothing we could ever do could satisfy God's desire for righteousness. But the miracle of God's mercy is that God exchanges our "filthy rags" for "rich robes" of righteousness (Zech 3:4)
In this awesome exchange, God placed the sin of humanity upon His righteous Son. Jesus became so identified with our sin that Scripture says God made Him to be sin on our behalf. The holy son of God could not possibly do more for us that this!! Experiencing the Father's wrath upon the sin He carried would have been more painful to endure than any human rejection or physical suffering.
Never take the righteousness God as given you for granted. Never take the forgiveness of your sin lightly. It cost God a terrible price in order to forgive you and make you righteous. Walk in a manner worthy of the righteousness He has given you.
My heart is so full this morning.
I know what I am.
I know how I think and act.
Why would God do this for me?
How can God love this much?
I don't ever want to take this for granted...but I know I will at times.
My goal today is to walk in a manner worthy of this amazing love!!
8 comments:
It's so humbling, isn't it? It's really hard to comprehend. Thank you for the reminder to try.
Very powerful scripture! Thank you for sharing and reminding me of HIS great love; I needed that:) Have a GREAT day!
Sara, I am struggling with feeling like God is not answering me fast enough...and reading this post today just makes me ache to be near my heavenly father for acting like a spoiled bratty kid.
I have self-esteem issue but none of them compare to the ones I feel right now after reading this and acknowledging how my thought life has been lately.
As always I am blown away by your encouragement and conviction. Thank you for that.
This is so true. Our SS class has been dealing a lot with heaven, hell, and why "good" people suffer...and you summed it up so nicely. What He did for us is so much more than anything we can do for Him. We are blessed to be children of God.
It's too stunning to think about sometimes!
Hugs & love,
Mimi
Love this post. God can humble us so quickly. I watch the destruction in Japan/Haiti/Chile...and have no doubt that he has all power to literally sweep away everything in our life. The only way to get through this life without fear, is really giving our life over to him and walking in his way--not our own. Easy to talk about, but very difficult to do.
Amen!
That's my prayer everyday: "let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord." I think we have to keep reminding ourselves on a daily basis, (I have to) of His abundant Grace. Never to be forgotten.
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