Romans 8:3
NIV

For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering…

 

This astounds me every time I think about it. I cannot imagine sending one of my sons out to intentionally sacrifice his life for one who is good. I have friends and family whose children are in the military and I feel for them when their children are sent to hot zones where they might end up giving their lives. Yet God sent His only (at the time) son to this earth fully intending that He would sacrifice Himself, and not for a world of good and worthy people. God sent Jesus to give His life for a whole world of sinners…people who were bad beyond human comprehension. And not only did God send this Son out, but the Son willingly came! When I think about Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, I realize just how fully human He was. He was sent “in the likeness of sinful man,” but He was not sinful man because there was no sin in Him…yet He was man. He fought all the temptations and fears I fight. At that final hour He even reached a place where He would have had God choose a different path for Him. What is the difference between me and the man He was at that time? What made the difference? Truly, I see one thing standing out above the rest. He knew Who He was.

This is usually the key for me too. If I can just reach that place…if I can only come to truly know – to KNOW – who I am in Christ Jesus, everything will be different. I feel like it’s a thing I’ve been reaching towards, that I fight desperately to grasp. It’s this elusive something that is out there that I know if I can only get my hands on it my life will change so dramatically I won’t recognize myself.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C