There have been times in my walk with Jesus when I’ve become ever so painfully aware of my inadequacies, of my ‘undeservedness’ of His love. And I wonder if many of us have felt the same.
In a world where, by and large, we have to earn things, the idea that God’s love can be lavished upon us freely without us paying anything for it is sometimes, often times, difficult to wrap our heads and hearts around.
In our world, we have to earn a living. We have to earn respect. We have to earn pretty much everything. Why? Because in our world there is inevitably a price to pay. And with that reality firmly planted in our heads, on those days when we fail God, we find it difficult to accept that we can go to Him (yet again!) and ask for His forgiveness. We find it difficult to accept that there isn’t a price to pay, and so our guilty conscience is often what keeps us from turning quickly to Him and ‘imposing’ (yet again!) on His grace. But here’s the Good News …
Hebrews 10:22 & 23 say this ‘Sprinkled with the blood of Christ, our hearts have been made free from a guilty conscience, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. So come near to God with a sincere heart, full of confidence because of our faith in Christ.’
On those days, it is the sacrifice of Jesus that pays the price. On those days, you and I can know that it is for us that He died. On those days, the blood of Christ, His very life’s sacrifice, washes clean our conscience; washes clean our very being. So, on those days in complete and blessed assurance we can ‘come near to God with a sincere heart, full of confidence because of your faith in Christ’.
- Hope Jones.
