Unnecessary
Punishment
For
Christ died for sins once
for all…to
bring you to God.
1 Peter
3:18 (author’s
emphasis)
It
had been a sleepless night, full of questions. Myriad thoughts wound
their way through Mitch’s mind…and hopefully to a listening God’s
ear. Around 5am God whispered, “Your sin has already received the
punishment necessary.”
Immediately
Mitch’s mind argued, “I know Jesus’ blood covered my sin. But I
keep making mistakes!”
“And?”
God asked lovingly.
“I
feel so careless. How can You still be pleased with me?”
“I
was pleased with you before you awakened at 2:00 am when all this
started, before you had any input in your day,” God gently
chastened. Then He said, “You are Mine, and I am always pleased
with you! You are looking for punishment that isn't coming.”
Knowing
Mitch wasn’t convinced, God set in motion a series of events to
show His loving faithfulness: his devotions that morning held meaning
to each of last night’s questions…a song he listened to spoke of
God’s unfailing love…and to settle the matter, when Mitch went
for his morning walk, he encountered Tom, a brother in the Lord, who
just happened to be working on the hiking trail in his remote area of
the county. Tom greeted him with a message that could only have come
from the Lord!
†
Many
Christians suffer from a performance-based mentality pertaining to
our relationship with God. The Father’s love, or withholding of
that love, is based on whether we are living a godly life at the
moment.
Mitch
and Tom’s meeting was not by chance. God was leaving no room for
doubt as to how He felt about Mitch. This divine appointment settled
the matter in Mitch’s heart.
When
Jesus died on Calvary’s cross it was for all
sin…for
all
time!
Not just for those of the past and present, and those in someone
else’s
future. Yet, many of us still question how our sin can’t deserve
further punishment.
The
complete answer is deep, and not to be stumbled upon. As you come to
the Father for answers, He will provide them…much as He did for
Mitch. But rest assured…your performance has nothing to do with
God’s being pleased with you.
Prayer
“Although I don’t
fully understand it, LORD,
bring me to the knowledge that all my sin was atoned for on
Calvary…and while I’m getting there, lead me in love. In Jesus’
Name, amen.”
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