No pain, no gain!
You get what you pay for!
There are no free lunches!
You get what you pay for!
There are no free lunches!
Those are some of the expressions we commonly hear that underscore the idea that anything worthwhile will come at a price. The price may be money, hard work, blood, sweat, tears, or whatever, but there is a cost.
When we talk about the wonderful freedom that we have in Christ, we must remember that it came at a great price. A price paid by our Lord and Savior.
Have you ever considered that? Have you ever really thought about not only what He did for you, but what it means in your life? He bought you freedom, yes, but He also bought you peace, abundant life, hope, and a host of other benefits. All for you, a sinner who had no way of extricating yourself from the grip that sin had on your life.
We owed a huge debt, and the tab just ran up and up with every day of our lives. We were born sinners. Ka-ching! (We were in trouble at that point, because the debt was already bigger than we could pay.) Then we threw a temper tantrum when we didn't get our way. Ka-ching! We lied to our mom! Ka-ching! We cheated on a test! Ka-ching! Before long, the tab was enormous.
God intervened, because we were helpless. We had no ability to pay the debt.
Now here's the cool part: If we had died for our sins, it would have been a just payment. But God decided to go beyond that. He decided to have Jesus die for our sins, but not just to pay the debt, but also to set us free and buy us life eternal.
It would be kind of like a guy committing heinous crimes, someone else stepping in to do the time in prison, and then at the same time giving the criminal a special gift. Where in the universe would that happen, folks? But that is exactly what Jesus did for us!
One of my biggest concerns is that we seriously don't get it. We, many of us, see ourselves as people that aren't "all that bad" and we just needed Jesus to "spruce us up a little." Not true. Not true on any level. We were broken and dirty, and Jesus found us in a garbage heap and took us in to His family and His home. He gave us a cloak of righteousness to wear, and put our past behind us.
It is a good thing that God "forgets" our sins and He remembers them no more, but it is also a good thing if we don't. I don't want to see us walking around depressed and feeling guilty for our past, but I do think it is good to never forget what He saved us from. That reminds me of a chorus:
When we talk about the wonderful freedom that we have in Christ, we must remember that it came at a great price. A price paid by our Lord and Savior.
Have you ever considered that? Have you ever really thought about not only what He did for you, but what it means in your life? He bought you freedom, yes, but He also bought you peace, abundant life, hope, and a host of other benefits. All for you, a sinner who had no way of extricating yourself from the grip that sin had on your life.
We owed a huge debt, and the tab just ran up and up with every day of our lives. We were born sinners. Ka-ching! (We were in trouble at that point, because the debt was already bigger than we could pay.) Then we threw a temper tantrum when we didn't get our way. Ka-ching! We lied to our mom! Ka-ching! We cheated on a test! Ka-ching! Before long, the tab was enormous.
God intervened, because we were helpless. We had no ability to pay the debt.
Now here's the cool part: If we had died for our sins, it would have been a just payment. But God decided to go beyond that. He decided to have Jesus die for our sins, but not just to pay the debt, but also to set us free and buy us life eternal.
It would be kind of like a guy committing heinous crimes, someone else stepping in to do the time in prison, and then at the same time giving the criminal a special gift. Where in the universe would that happen, folks? But that is exactly what Jesus did for us!
One of my biggest concerns is that we seriously don't get it. We, many of us, see ourselves as people that aren't "all that bad" and we just needed Jesus to "spruce us up a little." Not true. Not true on any level. We were broken and dirty, and Jesus found us in a garbage heap and took us in to His family and His home. He gave us a cloak of righteousness to wear, and put our past behind us.
It is a good thing that God "forgets" our sins and He remembers them no more, but it is also a good thing if we don't. I don't want to see us walking around depressed and feeling guilty for our past, but I do think it is good to never forget what He saved us from. That reminds me of a chorus:
Roll back the curtain of memory now and then.
Show me where you brought me from
And where I could have been.
Just remember I'm a human and humans forget,
So remind me, remind me dear Lord.
Show me where you brought me from
And where I could have been.
Just remember I'm a human and humans forget,
So remind me, remind me dear Lord.
If we know where we came from, the natural outcome of that is to walk in gratefulness to a Lord and Savior who we serve faithfully and obediently for the rest of our lives.
I also thought of another song we used to sing:
ReplyDeleteHe paid a debt He did not owe.
I owed a debt I could not pay.
I needed Someone to wash my sins away.
And now I sing a brand new song, "Amazing Grace," (all day long)
Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay.
He paid a debt at Calvary,
He cleansed my soul and made me free,
I'm glad that Jesus did all my sins erase;
I now can sing a brand new song, "Amazing Grace," (all day long)
Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay.
You ask me why He paid the price
Why He would make the sacrifice
Why He would walk up that hill called Calvary
He loved me more than His own life
O glorious day ......... (He saved my life!)
My Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay.
One day He's coming back for me
To live with Him eternally,
Won't it be glory to see Him on that day!
I then will sing a brand new song, "Amazing Grace," (all day long)
Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay.
PJ