Romans 3:24 – Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
You and I save things—a hoarder saves everything! Newspapers, letters, clothing—you name it, they keep it. Bizarre, we say!
Who wants to hoard the trash of the past? You don’t, do you? Or do you?
A tour of your heart might be telling. A pile of rejections stockpiled in one corner. Accumulated insults filling another. Images of unkind people lining the wall, littering the floor. No one can blame you. Innocence takers. Promise breakers. You’ve had your share.
Yet, doesn’t it make sense to get rid of their trash? Want to make this a day-changer?
It is common knowledge that humans are imperfect. Even if one doesn’t hold to the Christian doctrine of man’s depravity (sinfulness), a popular cultural saying is “We’re only human.” It is both an admission and understanding that people fail often and are imperfect. As believers we should understand that this sentiment springs from the reality of sin in every human’s life. Without “the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” we can do nothing but sin (Romans 14:23), relegating us to a life consistently “short of the glory of God.”
Here’s the good news: Paul didn’t stop at verse twenty three! We are raised from a place of condemnation to a place of adoption. It is as if we were on the stand in trial and everyone knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that we were guilty.
But a marvelous thing occurred, and rather than send us to pay the penalty for our crime, the Judge’s son took our place, and we were declared justified.
That is the beautiful scandal of the cross, that the just would take the place of the unjust (1 Peter 3:18). Understand your redemption through Jesus today and let his kindness lead you to repentance (Romans 2:4).
Choose to make every day—a great day!
