DAILY DEVOTIONS, Looking at the Multitudes with Compassion , (Romans 5:19, The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.) Thoughts for Today: When God gave Moses the Law, He also provided a sacrificial system of redemption. Jesus came to replace the Law and provide His own life as the sacrifice for sin. In other words, through Jesus, God gave the entire human race the opportunity to be delivered from the guilt and penalty of sin -- but not its nature. We will all have to deal with that old sinful nature throughout our lives. The point Paul makes in our passage today is this: sin reigns in our mortality, yet Gods grace brings us from death into eternal life through Jesus Christ. Everything that is wrong with the world today, whether in your family or mine, at work or school, in the people all around us -- is due to Adams failure in the Garden of Eden. If I understand this from Gods perspective it gives me the opportunity to see everything and everyone from a completely different point of view. I realize no matter what it is -- whether the co-worker sitting next to me who blatantly cheats on his taxes; the Bernie Madoffs of the world who swindle the unsuspecting out of their life savings; or the gross acts of murder and torture by the likes of Jeffrey Dahmer -- all are sinners just like me, because of Adam. It is no wonder Jesus looked at the multitudes with such compassion. He didnt organize picket lines, hunger strikes, or public demonstrations against any one person, or group of people. He saw a world diseased and dying because of sin and had compassion. When we finally realize that by the One Man (Jesus Christ) came righteousness, justification and grace -- then we stop trying to earn our way into heaven by being a little better than someone else -- or conversely feeling bad because we dont quite measure up. Were not the issue, Jesus is. As this reality dawns upon us, we stop trying to earn our way into heaven, and begin to truly understand what it means to: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Philippians 4:4). Questions to Ponder: Do find yourself trying to earn greater blessings? By doing what? More intensive Bible studies, more arduous mission trips, etc. If we fall into that trap, then our experience as Christians will be full of self-criticism, insecurity, and condemnation -- not only of ourselves but others. Our salvation is based on the work of Jesus, not our own! Isnt that wonderful?
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 13:27:15 +0000