True Love

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die--but God shows His love for us in that WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS, Christ died for us.-Romans 5:6-8

Here's the real issue. When we came to Christ, all of us had something in common. We were royally, incredibly, undeniably, unequivocally SCREWED UP! We had no shot at thriving in this life without Him. And if you're reading this, and you don't know Jesus, then listen to me. YOU HAVE NO SHOT AT THIS LIFE WITHOUT CHRIST! Oh sure. You might do well for a while. You might be successful. You might make gobs and gobs of money. You might be well liked...but you'll never be satisfied. There will always be something missing. There will always be this part of you that knows that there is something else. There's something more. There's something...missing. You may not know it now. In fact, you may think I'm an idiot, and truly believe that I have no idea what I'm talking about. That's fine. I used to think that way about people like me. I used to think that people who really sold out to Jesus were coocoo for coco puffs! I used to think they'd gone off the deep end. I used to think they were a bunch of bible thumping nut jobs, who had nothing better to do that waste their time on this "deity" named Jesus. I grew up in a home that was influenced very much by the church. My father was a pastor. I was forced to go to church as a child. As Lecrae would say, I was a drug baby. My parents drug me to church. I hated going to church from the age of about 10-15. I didn't get it. I didn't understand what it was all about. As much as my parents tried to explain who Christ was, I didn't really care until I had a real encounter with Him.

So look, yes. I grew up in the church. I grew up in a Christian household. I "knew" who Jesus was. But I did not care about Him. I didn't give a rip about who He was, or what He did, or how it applied to my life. Because it was MY life after all, right? Right?!? It's MY life, and I can do whatever I want to with it. That's what my mindset was up until about age 16 or 17. Jesus is cool and all. And I know the bible is good, or whatever...but does it really apply to me? Does it really mean anything to me?

Well, I found out in a real way, that Jesus was and is more than cool. I found out the bible is way more than good. And it does apply, and it does mean a lot...to me. Personally. Individually. As myself. Not as a guy who is a part of a greater whole. (The church.) But an individual dude, who had no clue what he was doing in life, and had no idea what I wanted out of this world. Jesus wasn't on the cross sacrificing Himself to save ONLY me, but He was on the cross sacrificing Himself with me on His mind. And you on His mind. And your mom. And your dad. And your uncle. And everyone else. Everyone. No really. Everyone. Even the people that we deem the lowest of the low in society. Guys like Jerry Sandusky. Guys like Timothy McVey. Guys like Osama Bin Laden. Everyone. All of us. Ever.

And it was a once for all sacrifice. Once. For. All. What exactly does that mean? Once for all? Simply put...Jesus died ONE TIME. For ALL SIN. From the beginning of time (Adam and Eve in the garden), all the way until the very last person will be born.  This includes, but is not limited to, the fall in the garden, the lie you told your parents when you said you were going out with your friends to the mall, but really ended up going to your boyfriend/girlfriends house, that time you looked at porn on your smart phone, your mom's affair, your dad's alcoholism, the abortion rate in America and across the globe, and any other vile, disgusting things you can think of. Jesus died, because of, and to do away with, all of it.

One of my favorite verses in the bible is in Hebrews 8. The writer is actually quoting Jeremiah 31:34, but here is what Hebrews 8:12 says. "For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." When we read that, we think, "OH! That means that God forgets things!" WRONG! Sorry. I'm really excited right now. As my friend Justin would say, "Watch this." The Hebrew word referenced that says "remember" isn't speaking about forgetting or bringing to remembrance. It's like this, say I have an accident where my finger gets severed off. If we pack it on ice, and can get to the surgeon quick enough, my finger can be reattached. It can be...re-membered, to my body. So what God is saying in this verse is not that He forgets our sins. What He is saying, is that He chooses not to associate OUR SINS with WHO WE ARE! When we come into a relationship with the Father through the Son, He only cares about Jesus' sacrifice. So basically...our sins don't count. He doesn't attach the sin to our character any more. Here's another way to look at it. In the old testament, when you would bring a sacrifice in to the priest to cover your sins for another year, the priest didn't ever look at you. The priest wasn't worried with what you looked like. He didn't care whether you were 6'6" with ripped arms and washboard abs. He didn't care if you were 5'3" and weighed 245 pounds and were slightly balding. He didn't care if you could have been a swimsuit model. The only thing that the priest looked at was your sacrifice.He inspected the quality of your sacrifice. If your sacrifice was deemed worthy, then so were you. For a year. Then you had to come back again. Next year. And the next. And the next. And the next. And the...well you get the picture. Listen. When you come to God and you present the sacrifice of Christ, and His blood as your offering...you are deemed worthy. Not for a day. Not for a week. Not for a month, a year, a decade, or whatever. For eternity.

So here's where it gets kind of awkward for me. We as Christians sometimes forget the fact that we used to be screwed up. Some of us, quite frequently, forget that Jesus had to save us out of some pretty messed up stuff. And then we get to the point where we think that we are better than sinners. Sometimes I forget that I still screw up. And then God let's me in on something. If it weren't for Him, I would have never realized that I needed a savior. I would have never realized that I needed saving even. Some people don't know Him yet. Some people don't love Him yet. But He loves them. Exactly as they are. He loves them. Where they are at. He loves deeply, every single person on this earth. How can He do that? Well...because He knows them as who they could be, not as who they are. The scriptures actually speak of heaven rejoicing more over one lost person coming to Christ than they do for the 99 who are already a part of the fold.

Christ's love was manifest in a great way on the cross. The passage at the beginning of this blog speaks and attests to that. Seldom will someone die for a righteous person. Very rarely will you find someone who will die for someone who is actually deemed "good" in the minds of men. His love was shown to us in this...that WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS, Christ died on the cross for us. While I was still in my dirt, He died for me. In fact, BECAUSE I was in my dirt, He died. It was MY sinfulness, and MY pride of life, and MY selfishness that nailed my savior to the cross. He HAD TO die so that I could truly live. He could not redeem humanity any other way. We are in our nature sinful. We don't have to be taught to sin. It comes natural to us. Jesus broke the mold. He lived a blameless life. He lived a sinless life. He lived a perfect life. And He was nailed to a cross because of MY transgressions. Some of you may be thinking, "Well He died for my stuff too." And you are correct. But until you really get to the point where you understand that it was for you, all of it, then it won't take root. It wasn't until I really understood that it was MY stuff that got my Jesus murdered, that I truly realized what grace meant. Unmerited favor. Undeserved love. I don't want justice. If I were given justice then I would be destined to hell. Mercy is not getting what I do deserve. Mercy is good. But, it isn't grace. Grace gives me what I don't deserve. Grace gives me His love. Unbridled. Uncontained. Unconditioned. You know what God's love is like? Imagine loving someone so much, that it hurt. And realizing that even if they NEVER showed you the same love, you will still love them. You wouldn't stop loving them because they stopped loving you. That's God's love for you. And it was poured out for us, on the cross, while we were yet sinners. While we had no shot. Jesus gave everything He had, so that we could be something new. A new creation. A spiritual creation. Living His life, and loving our lives.

So if you don't know Him. If you feel like you've gone too far, realize this. Every one of us who claim Christ as our savior has been in a place where we thought we were too far gone. But, His love was showed in the fact that while we were still in that place, He died and laid down His life for us. It's never too late, and it's never too early to turn to Christ. He died. He rose. He lives. And He loves you, right where you're at. But He doesn't want to leave you there. He wants you to come along for the ride of your life. He will take you as you are, but He will completely transform you into something new. His love is enough. His life is enough. Will you take His invitation? The choice is yours, and yours alone.