Bible Passage: “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (Romans 5:9-10)
Scripture Reading: Romans 6:23; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Hebrews 2:14-15
There’s an old story that preachers use to illustrate why Jesus came.
Very briefly paraphrased (preachers can make this a long story), a farmer noticed some birds on his property that, for whatever reason, hadn’t flown south for the winter. Snow had come, and they were in dire straits.
Wanting to move them into the safety and warmth of his barn, he tried to drive them there, but they flew away scared. He tried to lure them there with food, but again, they were spooked and backed off.
He pondered that if only he could become a bird himself, taking on the same experience and risks, they would perhaps trust him enough as a fellow bird to follow him into the life-saving warmth of the barn.
As he thought this, he realized the beauty and power of what Jesus had done by coming down to save us.
The story is simple and easy to digest and provides a solid parable for the incarnation. Jesus personally came to earth, becoming one of us, living our human experience, to save us from death.
Through our sin, we wandered away from the God who loves us and we separated ourselves from His presence and life.
Cut off from His life, the only thing left for us was death.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
The natural consequences of our sin lead to eternal death, but the grace of God has come to us through Jesus and granted us eternal life.
As we saw yesterday, the opening blessings of eternal life come to us by the Holy Spirit right now as believers. Eternal life has already started here on earth. We will experience it in its fullness one day when we see the Lord face to face, but we get to start enjoying it now (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)!
And although in our humanness, we may still have a natural fear of death to a certain extent, any lingering or overwhelming fears are swallowed up in hope because we know where we are going—reunited with the good God who has saved us from the grip of death itself through Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Worship Him!
Prayer: Lord, I am so humbled by Your willingness to leave everything and become one of us. I am amazed at Your sacrifice and overwhelmed by the love that drove You to it. Help me be a man who lives his life to Your glory in gratitude for all You have done. Amen.
Reflection: Take some time today to reflect on the Cross and what the Lord has done for you. Make a list of all the blessings and benefits you can see, and thank Him for it!
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