“This poor man called, and the Lord heard him, He saved him from all his troubles.” (Psalm 34:6 NIV)
Yesterday I wrote about how Jesus paid an exorbitant debt on our behalf. We simply cannot afford to cover the fee we have incurred. We are the poor man in this psalm.
I think about who I was before I trusted the Lord entirely: a liar and a thief, covetous and greedy, lustful, manipulative and hopelessly selfish. It’s mortifying to type that out for the world to see, but I barely recognize that individual any more. Of course, it’s been twenty-five years or more since Jesus pad my debt and brought me off sin’s cruel auction block, a place I had landed of my own volition. Free people learn to think different. Live different.
I, for one, am incredibly thankful for the rich love of Jesus, somehow seeing fit to save me. I wasn’t special. It wasn’t that I had some brilliant potential above and beyond any other soul in the stocks. Jesus seeks to set free ALL who are hurting in a life of sin, all who are stuck tight in their trespass. His grace is sufficient for ALL who receive it, as many times as we need it!
“For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law but under grace.” (Romans 6:14 NLT)
This freedom, this wild and wonderful new air that we breathe as believers, is not to be taken lightly. Grace is not a license to sin. Quite the contrary; it’s opportunity to live right again, a fresh chance honor God with today’s choices.
“Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become a slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.” (Romans 5:15-18 NLT)
Lord, thank You for buying us off the block and putting Your Spirit in our bodies. You redeem us and equip us to make better choices. Righteousness is within reach because of Your extravagant investment in us. We recognize Your grace, receive it as the grandiose gift it is, and wield it with greatest care. We love You, Jesus. Amen.