Miracle of Easter

Today i heard someone mumble a bit. This person mumbled about “having  broken all of the Lord’s commandments” and “i am not able to ever reconcile with God”. The next thing this person mumbled, was a speaking out loud of  the first verse of Psalm 23, which happened to lay open before him: “Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd”.

The thing that stood out to me, was, that indeed this person was right.

We are not able to ever reconcile with God.

We are not able to reconcile with God.

Not when it comes to us doing something to make it right with Him.

But it’s not about us trying to do everything we can to change our past, our behavior, ourselves.

It’s about what’s already been done for us.

It’s about what the Lord chose to do, so He could reconcile with us.

This is a truth i have known for quite some time now as i grew up with the Bible and going to church. And i believe lots of us Christians ‘know’ this truth.

Especially now in the week before Easter, i hope we all are hearing the Gospel and how Christ paid our debt. How forgiveness isn’t something we do, but something He did. Yes, He already did set me free from sin. On the cross Jesus Christ paid my debt in full. He paid the prize for my past mistakes and also for my future failures.

i know this and still, i haven’t been able to fully grasp it.

i need to know that i know that i know

that forgiveness of my sin isn’t something i need to do, but something HE DID.

Accepting the gift of forgiveness also doesn’t mean that you have to be 100% sure you won’t ever make the same mistake again.

However i believed that to be true. And so i could not (and still have a hard time to) ask for & accept forgiveness if there was a chance of messing things up again.

It still is oh so hard for me to grasp this. For i am so afraid of exploiting God’s grace. i guess i have been taken at heart the warning to not continue in sin so that grace may abound (Romans 6:1-2). But here in Romans 6 it’s about consciously, deciding to continue to live in sin in order to get more grace from the Lord. That’s not the same as asking for forgiveness, and slipping up again.

i find comfort in Jesus’ last hours on the cross.

As He was hanging there He was mocked. Matthew 27 talks about both the thieves that were crucified with Him, were reviling Him, just as the other people were (Matthew 27:38-44). Luke 23 speaks of only one robber mocking our Lord Jesus (Luke 23:39). Whether or not the second thief mocked Christ, it doesn’t really change much to what i found very encouraging here.

The thing is, the second thief was hanging on the cross with Jesus. He was a sinner. He was convicted for a crime, and he speaks of “indeed justly receiving the due reward of his deeds” (Luke 23:41).

But there’s more to it. This man, this criminal, he recognizes Jesus for who He is. He confesses his sin and he humbly yet boldly asks our Lord, Jesus Christ, if He would remember him when He comes into His Kingdom (Luke 23:42).

You see, this man didn’t have any chance of doing things better in his life. He had no more time to do things right, to ask for forgiveness to those he had wronged. He was about to die in just a couple of hours.

Yet here he calls upon the Lord and Jesus hears his cry and He replies:

“Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

So even when there’s no hope of us ever being able to quit sinning, to stop our destructive behavior, we still may go to Jesus, repent our sins to Him (which means to turn away from our sins, and look up to our Lord Jesus and what He has done for us so we are now able to go freely to Him and live our life in communion with the Lord our God), ask for forgiveness and live as a new creation in Christ: old things have passed away and all things become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

i am learning and you may too, that:

my sins are not simply covered, but they are removed from me..

Taken so far from me, that there is no way that they can be considered a part of me, anymore (Paslms 103:12).

And not only did God chose to forget our sins, but He also wants us to forget them as well. He wants us to draw near to Him with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, being sprinkled clean from an evil conscience (Hebrews 10:22).

Please keep in mind that to me it’s still a journey. But i hope and pray that sharing this part of my journey, will somehow encourage you to cry out to Jesus also, no matter what is going on in your life. For He is the One and Only who has made it possible for you to live in the presence of the Lord.

Because the Blood of Christ was shed for you and for me, we are let go as if we have never sinned (Matthew 26:28).

Have a very blessed Easter!

lyrics to "You Are More" by Tenth Avenue North