ROMANS 6:23.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
TO PONDER
One of the first times I drove a car I was in a friends car. The car owner sat in the passenger seat as another friend sat in the back, both giving me support, encouragement, and helpful instruction.
The impromptu lesson was going very well up until the brake and accelerator got confused as I carefully steered the vehicle around a corner and the confused pedals caused the car to jump the gutter and forced an innocent “No Standing” road sign not to stand.
Now, for the learned lesson from that experience, I never paid for the damage caused to my friend’s car (fairly minimal) but somebody did.
Today’s verse reminds us that there is a cost, a price to be paid for our sin -the wrong that we do- and that price has to be paid.
In my many conversations with people this topic often comes up, “If God truly is a loving God, why doesn’t he just forgive everyone?” and in those conversations I use the above driving experience.
Everything we do has a price, a cost to be paid, and somebody pays that price. Whether good, bad, or non-consequential (if there is such a thing) it costs someone, when we do something nice for a friend/stranger, at minimum, it costs you time and energy, when we respond in anger to a family member damage has been done and somebody needs to bare that cost.
Today’s verse tells us that Jesus bares the cost we owe, he paid the price of our sin, by grace (gift) so we don’t have to pay the price of death (there is a lot more to say here but we don’t have the time or space in this post).
My friend, the owner of the car, paid to fix the damage I was responsible for, the damage I created, the damage that was a result of my actions. That's what Jesus does for you.
PRAYER: Forgiving God, Thanks for paying the price of my wrongdoing, the cost I owed, the debt I was unable to pay because you love me. Help me share the grace you freely have given me to others. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside