Grandpa took the hit

Grandpa was playing with his two-year-old grandson, ragging around on the couch. He lifted the wee boy aloft and leaned back, misjudging the placement of pillows and backrests, and suddenly found himself rolling right backwards and off the couch onto the floor beneath. The wee boy giggled wildly, thinking it was all part of the game. Grandpa grimaced as his rib hit the wood, but he didn’t say anything.

The bruise was deep, invisible to the naked eye. He ignored its soreness and ache, so happy was he that his grandson came through unscathed. And they continued to play.

Jesus took the hit for us. He didn’t complain, either. He chose to be hurt in order to save us. He still takes the hit for us, every time he intervenes, stepping into our messes and helping us sort them out. There is a price to pay, and Jesus pays it. Because of his love for us. For you. For me.

Thank you, Jesus, from the depth of my being. Thank you.

Pre-Existing Conditions

Pre-existing conditions. 

I’ve just renewed my annual travel insurance policy. Because I have a pre-existing medical condition, I spent a half hour on the phone with Anna, answering set questions concerning the condition. At the end of the questionnaire I was given the additional cost of cover for this condition. It nearly doubled the base quotation. 

Humanity has inherited a pre-existing spiritual condition: a sinful nature. We are prone to making unhealthy decisions which sicken our souls. Yet even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. Christ paid the additional cost for our spiritual condition, so that we can be in Him, holy and without fault in his eyes. It cost Jesus his life.

I’m grateful that I can get, and can afford to pay for, the insurance cover so that I can visit my family regularly. I am bowled over, eternally grateful, that Jesus has paid the price so I can live with my heavenly father ... heavenly family ... forever.

That sets my heart singing praises forever. What a Saviour!

Automatic

The dishwasher hums and whirrs, bubbles and sloshes behind me as I sit at the table. Dirty dishes went into it, soap powder was added, electricity powers it and for an hour it will whoosh away until all the dishes are squeaky clean and dry, ready for use again.

The dishes don’t have to do anything but sit there. Hot water and soap powder and electric power clean them up. 

I come to Jesus in prayer, at church, in Bible study. I worship him in song, in prayer, in Scripture. The purity of God’s word washes over me, through me, around me, in me. I come away cleansed, refreshed, renewed and ready to be used again. 

‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow,’ God promises. Jesus took the sin of the world on himself on the cross, so that we could be cleansed and able to approach God. 

Jesus did it all. We just have to get into a quiet place, or a worshiping place, alone or with other believers, and Jesus and his Word will cleanse us.

Ready for use again.