People are living in darkness--some because they've chosen to scamper back into the darkness after they've seen the light, others because they've never seen the light and don't know there's something other than the darkness they've always been in. Our job is to walk fully in the Light so that other people will see our deeds as being from God. We are called to love because He loves; we are called to speak the truth.
Judgement will come to the earth and to everyone who has ever walked on it. We are promised that over and over again, and reminded that it's a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God (Hebrews 10:31). All of us will face judgement for what we've done, and by our actions we are all condemned to death. On our own, we are far from worthy. In fact, we're closer to being worthless.
God's judgment--His wrath--is a terrifying thing. It is unrelenting and absolute, and no one can stand under the scrutiny of the Perfect Judge. As it says in Micah 7:9a, "I must bear His anger because I have sinned against Him." Isaiah 8:13 says, "After all, only the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, should terrify you. Only God is holy, only God should leave you trembling."
On my own, I have no chance. I could never do enough to earn my way into heaven--I can't be good enough or help enough people or give away enough of my own possessions.
I can never be enough.
If my story ended there, it would be a pretty dismal story. It would be hopeless, leading to an empty, worthless life that might as well be spent in the dark.
But amazingly, that emptiness is where the story--His story--starts. God looks at us and sees us in the midst of our failures, in the midst of our sins, and He offers us grace.
We could never be perfect, so God gave us an "out," so to speak. In the middle of the Darkness, He sent the ultimate Light. Jesus lived a perfect life, the only One in all of history who could do that. His grace was offered in the form of the perfect, blameless sacrifice--in the form of the One who could look down over the people who hung Him on a cross and pray that they be forgiven, even as the blood ran down his face to make Him see through a veil of blood.
The rest of that verse from Micah says, "until He argues on my behalf and rights all my wrongs. He will bring me out into the light, and then I will see His saving justice."
When we step out of the Darkness into the Light, it's a scary thing. Every fault and flaw is exposed; we can't hide anything. His Light shows us for everything we are. But then, just as Jesus saw people through a veil of His blood while He hung on the cross, God sees us through a veil of the blood of the Perfect Sacrifice. The blood of Jesus covers all our flaws, sins, and faults.
God sees us through His grace.
It doesn't matter that I can't ever be enough, that I can't do enough to earn God's favor, because the Perfect Sacrifice will always be more than enough. Jesus forgave
the ones who called for Him to be crucified,
the ones who drove the nails through His hands and feet,
the ones who shoved a crown of thorns onto His head,
the ones who spit on Him and mocked Him.
What makes us think that we're so different, so special, that our sins are too much for Him to handle?
Micah 7:7 says, "But as for me, I will look to the Eternal One, and my hope is in the True God who will save me. My God will hear me."
Despite all I do that drives a wedge between me and God, my God hears me. His grace covers all my sins, no matter how horrible they are.
Judgement will come to the earth and to everyone who has ever walked on it. We are promised that over and over again, and reminded that it's a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God (Hebrews 10:31). All of us will face judgement for what we've done, and by our actions we are all condemned to death. On our own, we are far from worthy. In fact, we're closer to being worthless.
God's judgment--His wrath--is a terrifying thing. It is unrelenting and absolute, and no one can stand under the scrutiny of the Perfect Judge. As it says in Micah 7:9a, "I must bear His anger because I have sinned against Him." Isaiah 8:13 says, "After all, only the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, should terrify you. Only God is holy, only God should leave you trembling."
On my own, I have no chance. I could never do enough to earn my way into heaven--I can't be good enough or help enough people or give away enough of my own possessions.
I can never be enough.
If my story ended there, it would be a pretty dismal story. It would be hopeless, leading to an empty, worthless life that might as well be spent in the dark.
But amazingly, that emptiness is where the story--His story--starts. God looks at us and sees us in the midst of our failures, in the midst of our sins, and He offers us grace.
We could never be perfect, so God gave us an "out," so to speak. In the middle of the Darkness, He sent the ultimate Light. Jesus lived a perfect life, the only One in all of history who could do that. His grace was offered in the form of the perfect, blameless sacrifice--in the form of the One who could look down over the people who hung Him on a cross and pray that they be forgiven, even as the blood ran down his face to make Him see through a veil of blood.
The rest of that verse from Micah says, "until He argues on my behalf and rights all my wrongs. He will bring me out into the light, and then I will see His saving justice."
When we step out of the Darkness into the Light, it's a scary thing. Every fault and flaw is exposed; we can't hide anything. His Light shows us for everything we are. But then, just as Jesus saw people through a veil of His blood while He hung on the cross, God sees us through a veil of the blood of the Perfect Sacrifice. The blood of Jesus covers all our flaws, sins, and faults.
God sees us through His grace.
It doesn't matter that I can't ever be enough, that I can't do enough to earn God's favor, because the Perfect Sacrifice will always be more than enough. Jesus forgave
the ones who called for Him to be crucified,
the ones who drove the nails through His hands and feet,
the ones who shoved a crown of thorns onto His head,
the ones who spit on Him and mocked Him.
What makes us think that we're so different, so special, that our sins are too much for Him to handle?
Micah 7:7 says, "But as for me, I will look to the Eternal One, and my hope is in the True God who will save me. My God will hear me."
Despite all I do that drives a wedge between me and God, my God hears me. His grace covers all my sins, no matter how horrible they are.
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~Mandy