As we approach Easter, I truly feel it is the most important day of the year. Our Father God in His great agape love and unmerited grace and mercy, paved a way for us to escape our sinful nature and sure death. He set a plan in place for His Son to pay a penalty we deserved. Jesus did not warrant it but took it upon Himself to pay.
We were all born with original sin, due to Adam and Eve taking a bite out of that forbidden piece of fruit. When I read the Genesis story, I try to put myself in Eve’s place and think how she might have felt.
This snake-being slithered up to her, giving her all kinds of misinformation, telling outright lies actually, saying if she eats this fruit she shall not surely die.
Huh? Didn’t she remember what God told them? You couldn’t have just avoided that area, girl?
Then when she did take a bite, she offered the rest to Adam. Couldn’t he have said, “Woman? God told us no. What do you think you’re doing?”
No, instead he reached for the apple, taking a bite and then realized with horror they didn’t have any clothes on. Immediate guilt must have covered them like a hot sauna.
After that they sewed fig leaves and wrapping themselves up, waited for God when He’d stroll through the garden in the cool of the day. Was it late afternoon? Did God always walk with them? Seems like it might have been a regular part of their lives.
They hid.
God called, “Where are you, Adam?” He knew what they’d done.
This sin had to be dealt with. God hates sin. His wrath and holy nature requires sin to be covered by blood. In the Old Testament, sin offerings were presented through the blood of animals. “The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9:22, New International Version)
Jesus took care of this penalty of sin by shedding His precious blood on the cross.
Being with Jesus is the thing that makes us different. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, leaving the old way of thinking and doing behind. In Acts 4:14, it says, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” Those men were full of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus welcomes everyone, any time or phase of their lives. He welcomes us all with open arms, but doesn’t leave us in our state of sin. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins. Turning from our old sinful lifestyle requires a heart change.
Will we mess up? Of course. God in His faithfulness will always forgive if we come to Him with a repentant heart.
There is no condemnation for them that are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1, New International Version). Sanctification is internal, it is growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus. It’s a process of growing, but the moment we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives, we are made fully righteous and can approach the throne of grace — holy and blameless. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6, New International Version)
I heard a story once that described the penalty for sin in a way I could understand.
What if I were standing before a judge, guilty for some heinous crime and the judge pronounced a death sentence on me. Justifiably so. I was guilty. I did it. So I needed to pay for it. Jesus, coming up behind me, putting His hand on my shoulder, turned to the judge said, “I will pay for her, judge. I will die in place of Kay.”
This is what He does for us. Hanging on the cross on Good Friday, He took every sin — past, present and future — and paid for them through the shedding of His innocent blood. He died, was buried and — the best news of all — rose on Easter Sunday, conquering death once and for all. Profoundly simple Gospel truth — simply profound Gospel truth.
Anyone who believes and accepts this free gift receives the good news of life everlasting. Our lives will reflect the truth we claim. We will be redeemed and set free. Unable to keep this joy to ourselves, we will then share with whomever chooses to listen. Then we set out to do His work for Him, not to earn salvation because we already have it — but to gratefully thank Him for it.
(“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8, New International Version)
Happy Easter, everyone.
Kay Reminger was born and raised on a dairy farm, and she married her high school sweetheart, who happened to farm for a living in Leopolis. Writing for quite a few years, she remains focused on the blessings of living the ups and downs of rural life from a farm wife’s perspective.
