Photo by Tom Roy Hobbs. Licensed under CC bySA 2.0
The year was 1972. I was so excited... I was finally a “big kid,” or so I thought. Kindergarten! New things to learn. New friends to know. New clothes. And, oh yes... new shoes.
A couple of weeks before school started, a girl came to my Sunday School class for the first time. She had the best shoes I had ever seen. Saddle shoes! Anybody remember those?
The following Saturday, my daddy took me shopping for school shoes. The first store we went to had some very nice shoes for big girls going to school but nothing I wanted. We went to another store and another and another. I still was not very impressed. (Spoiled brat? Probably.)
“One more store, pleeeeeese, Daddy!” We must have hit every shoe store in Scranton. Then finally, at the last store, there they were! MY saddle shoes! They were the best shoes in the whole, wide world in my 5-year old mind.
On the very first day of school, a freckled little girl with ringlets said, “Your daddy must love you a lot. My daddy said those shoes cost too much for kindergarten.”
I have never forgotten those words: “Your daddy must love you a lot.”
My dad does love me. He has often called me his favorite daughter. (Let me clarify that lest you think my dad was a bad parent who practiced favoritism. I'm the ONLY daughter.)
I know another Father who loves me even more than any human parent could ever love a child. I am highly favored by Him, but not because of anything I have done or could ever do. This wonderful, unconditional love for me has nothing to do with me and everything to do with who He is.
The Bible says, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). God loves you and me so much that He sent His only Son to die in our place.
Why would God do that? Why did His Son have to die? Because God is also holy. “Holy” has been misused and misrepresented by our culture in so many ways. What does it really mean?
“God’s holiness is more than just His perfection or sinless purity; it is the essence of His “other-ness,” His transcendence. God’s holiness embodies the mystery of His awesomeness and causes us to gaze in wonder at Him as we begin to comprehend just a little of His majesty.”What does it mean that God is holy, holy, holy? S. Michael Houdmann
We have all “...sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 KJV). A simplified explanation of sin is anything we think, say or do that does not please God. God, in all His awesome holiness, cannot allow sin in His presence.
So, where does this leave us? Our sin has condemned us to eternal punishment and separation from God (see 2 Thessalonians 8-9).
Think about that for a moment. Every person who has ever lived deserves to be sentenced to eternal punishment. Everyone. You might say, “Well, I'm not that bad. I've never hurt anyone or stolen anything. I'm a good person.”
By what standard do we measure what is good? We have all come short of God's glory, which means His standard of “good” is much higher than we can ever reach on our own.
The good news is, God doesn't want to leave us in our sin. He doesn't want us to suffer eternal punishment. He made a way for us to be forgiven and made right in His eyes.
Why? God is love. And, because God loves us so perfectly and unconditionally, He sent His only Son to take our punishment. Jesus never sinned. He never did anything to displease His Father.
When Jesus died on the cross, He took my sin and your sin, the sins of the whole world on Himself (1 Peter 2:24). He took our punishment. Our sin put a great distance between us and God and His promise of eternal life in heaven with Him. But, the blood of Jesus brings us near to God (Ephesians 2:13).
“God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.”(John 3:17-18 MSG)
Did you get that? “Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted...” ANYONE. That means everything I've ever done that did not please God - my sin, your sin - all of it can be forgiven.
No matter how bad we may think we are, our record of wrongs can be wiped out (Acts 3:19).
How? A man once asked the apostle Paul and his friend Silas this question...
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:30-31)
That man wanted to know how to be “saved.” He wanted to know how to be saved from the punishment he deserved for sin. He was right. God does save us from condemnation, but being “saved” is so much more.
Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, when we put our trust in Him, we have a right to come directly to God and talk with Him. We become one of God's children, part of His family and, like the loving Father He is, He provides and helps us through every part of life, if we just let Him in. The awesome news about Jesus is that He didn't stay dead. He rose from the grave on the third day and He prays for us to the Father.
God loves you. He wants you to be saved so you can be free from condemnation, have a relationship with Him and spend eternity in heaven with Him.
What must you do to be saved? Many people have tried to make it harder that it is. They think they have to DO something to earn salvation.
That's not what God says. HE DID IT ALL for you and for me. He wants us to come to Him.
He really did make it simple enough for even a child to understand... as easy as A, B, C...
If you want to be saved, if you want to be forgiven, if you want to know God...
A. Admit that you are a sinner.
B. Believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and that He rose again.
C. Confess your sin and your faith in Jesus Christ. In other words, talk to God about it.
If you agree that you are a sinner, believe that Jesus died for you and rose again and want to live God's way, then tell Him about it. Feel free to use your own words. Your prayer could be something like this...
God, I know I have sinned and I deserve to be punished. Please forgive me for everything I have done that does not please You. Thank You for loving me even though I don't deserve it and thank You for sending Jesus to die on the cross and take my punishment. I know He is alive today. Help me live Your way from now on. In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.
If you prayed a prayer like that, I would love to hear from you.
You may contact me at faithinreview@gmail.com.
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