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Reflect
Nothing costs more than sin.
When Adam and Eve rebelled in the garden, death invaded their bountiful life. The seed of their sin passed to each successive generation, thwarting God’s plan for abundant life – a close relationship with himself. In his mercy, he arranged a way for people to pay their sin-debt and find forgiveness – but it meant a costly sacrifice.
In many Eastern countries, livestock have always been vital to survival. Each lamb means milk for a child, clothing, meals and provision for a family. Before Jesus Christ, each Divine Law broken meant one of the family’s best animals must be sacrificed in substitution for the sinner. Each sacrifice meant the decrease of a family’s wealth or the increase of a family’s poverty. But every drop of spilled blood foreshadowed the coming, ultimate sacrifice, the one which would end sin-sacrifices forever.
As a child troubled by my own rebelliousness, I learned that God, in love, had centuries earlier peered down the ages into my heart and yours. That he provided a perfect lamb to die in our place. That his own flawless Son, Jesus Christ, willingly died on a cross-shaped altar strung like a bridge between earth and heaven.
Sin’s seeds, along with its incalculable costs and consequences, continue to multiply. But the debt piled through the ages has already been satisfied by the blood of Jesus; a payment that exceeds all sin and all guilt for all time. All that remains is for those with sin-weary, troubled hearts to accept his sacrifice, receive his forgiveness and with God’s help, leave sin behind.
How Deep the Father’s Love for Us https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=11&v=SKDujmtyAVk
Respond
Father, I have no adequate words to express my love and gratitude. Through your Son, you have erased by sin-debt forever and chosen to remember it no more. I have nothing to give in return except myself. Teach me today the sacrifice of praise. Amen.
Kathleen Gibson
Kathleen began following Jesus at six. The Word and words have captivated her ever since. Her career has included time as a freelancer, columnist, broadcaster, conference speaker, workshop leader and magazine editor. She has authored two books and currently works full-time as constituency and communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Kathleen and her husband, Rick, spent thirty years pastoring churches across Western Canada. They have two children and six grandchildren. Publications: Practice by Practice, the art of everyday faith, 2010, Word Alive, Winnipeg; West Nile Diary, one couple’s triumph over a deadly disease, 2009, BPS Books, Toronto; Sunny Side Up, Faith and Life newspaper column, published weekly since 2001. (Also posted weekly at www.kathleengibson.ca/sunnysideup); 90 second inspirational radio spot, Simple Words, airs on a syndicated program in over twenty countries