Jesus
came for sinners. And if you are not a
sinner, then Jesus did not come for you.
(Truth be told, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, so
Jesus came for everyone. The point is:
you are a sinner and Jesus came for you.)
It
is an odd irony that Christians so often look down on others and see ourselves
as, “better than.” This attitude has
been observed for generations and today’s generation has said they’ve had
enough. In the book Unchristian by Dave Kinnamon, states, “Our research shows that many
of those outside of Christianity, especially younger adults, have little trust
in the Christian faith and esteem for the lifestyle of Christ followers is
quickly fading among outsiders. They
admit their emotional and intellectual barriers go up when they are around
Christians, and they reject Jesus because they feel rejected by Christians.”
What
did the centurion do to deserve to have his servant healed? What did the widow
do that her son should be raised? John
the Baptist was truly great, Jesus said, but yet the least in God’s Kingdom is
greater than he. Why was the sinful
woman forgiven?
Be
careful with that last question! We will
be tempted to say that she was forgiven because she loved. But what the text actually says is that she
loved because she was forgiven. She knew
her debt was huge, and she rejoiced that God would forgive her … even her.
What
about you? How much have you been
forgiven? What blessings from God have
you deserved?
The
old hymn says it well, “Chief of sinners though I be, Jesus shed his blood for
me.” Our sin is awful. We are totally steeped in it. But God loves us so much that he forgave us,
even us! Jesus’ forgiveness of our sins
softens our hearts so that we can love others in His name.
Lord,
let me know the depth of my sin that I may guess at the greatness of Your grace
and become more loving to others in my life.
Amen.
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