Easter Grace
“One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise (Luke 23:39-43).”
You may not think of yourself as a criminal deserving death like the ones hanging on Jesus’ left and right sides at Calvary. And while we confess weekly that we are sinners in need of salvation through Christ, I’m not sure we really understand what we are saying. Do we really believe that we need saving from anything? I mean, if I get life right 80% of the time, isn’t that an ‘B’ in most cases? I’m above average, right!?
When comparing ourselves to other human beings, I suppose 80% is Very Good. But our need for salvation isn’t based on comparisons to other human beings. It is instead compared to the perfection of God. And therefore, an 80% grade has failed perfection.
But because Christ took our sins to the cross, God looks at him and pardons us. We are given Jesus’ righteousness as a cloak to wear, making us righteous in the eyes of God, not by anything we have done, but by the grace of Jesus alone. What a gift! That is worth sharing. That is a message that we can’t re-create through other options. Yet it is a message that most of us struggle to grasp, and even more so, struggle to share.
You were created in God’s image. Your sins have been forgiven through Christ not because you chose him, but because Christ chose you. I pray that this Easter message of grace fills your heart with great joy, peace, and thanksgiving. It is a message that everyone in the Church is called to shout from the mountaintops.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8
Peace,
Pastor Randy