Just Between You, Me, & God, Good Friday Edition

Jesus died for the whole world. We tend to think of Good Friday and Easter Sunday as traditional Christian holidays. The truth is; what Jesus did on the cross and what happened on the third day when He rose from the grave, was done for all of us. Jesus suffered and died for Muslims, for Buddhist, for Hindus, for atheist and agnostics, for Jews, for believers and nonbelievers alike. Whether you are in Church every time the doors are open or if you’ve never darkened the doors before in your life, Jesus died for you. Whether you’re politically correct or conservatively outspoken, whether you believe in the psychic or the astrological alignments or if you put your faith in the One who created the stars, Jesus died for you. If you think that you can do enough good works in this life to outweigh every sin you’ve ever committed or if you think that your sins are so heinous that you could never receive forgiveness, Jesus died for you. Whether you think that the laws of God are old and outdated or that God has changed His mind about His creation and that He is no longer in control and doesn’t care what we do as long as it feels good, then Jesus died for you. Whether you think that you are too rich or too poor, that you are too young or too old, and whether you just don’t care one way or the other, please know that Jesus died for you. If this just doesn’t make sense to you then you’re not alone. I often don’t understand myself. How can Jesus death forgive my sins, even when I continue to sin? Jesus explains in a conversation with Peter in Matt. 18:21-22, “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Here Peter thought he was going above and beyond with forgiving someone 7 times for the same sin against him but Jesus counters with an amazingly higher number. Before you start keeping track of the numbers, keep in mind that Jesus was trying to make the point that no matter how many times we sin, though Him we are forgiven. Remember also that the sin was not just against Peter or ourselves, but against God. We are His creation, so when we sin against each other, we sin against God. Listen again to why Jesus died for all of us. John 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world (that’s all of us) that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” Brackets are my words. Jesus died for you; the choice that remains is your own decision with God to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior. Please let me know how you decided. God’s love to you, Pastor Dean