Romans 6:6-11
As Christ followers, I think we underestimate the power of Jesus in our lives. I know I do. We overlook who He is and the what He has already done in our lives. We lose hope, not convinced that He can do again and again what He has already done before. Whether perpetual or new, our sin often defines us...at least in our minds. We think, subconsciously perhaps, that we will always be our sin. Saying to ourselves something like,
I'm the gossip.
I'm the hater.
I'm the annoying girl.
I'm the dead beat guy.
I'm the alcoholic.
I'm the manipulator.
I'm the adulterer.
But it's lies. Complete un-truth. The Truth is Jesus has changed all of that. Our relationship with Him has power, amazing and unending power, if we allow it to work in our lives - if we continue day after day to allow him into our hearts, to burn away the sin with his pure love and hope and forgiveness. I'm the hater.
I'm the annoying girl.
I'm the dead beat guy.
I'm the alcoholic.
I'm the manipulator.
I'm the adulterer.
I have to be reminded again and again that I am dead to the power of sin and alive in Christ. I am alive because Jesus loves me. Jesus loves me. The real truth is
Jesus loves the gossip.
Jesus loves the hater.
Jesus loves the annoying girl.
Jesus loves the dead beat guy.
Jesus loves the alcoholic.
Jesus loves the manipulator.
Jesus loves the adulterer.
Jesus loves us as we are and showers us with himself so that we don't want any more to stay that way. So that we see a new way to live, a new tomorrow, hope for a life with less and less sin and more and more Jesus.Jesus loves the hater.
Jesus loves the annoying girl.
Jesus loves the dead beat guy.
Jesus loves the alcoholic.
Jesus loves the manipulator.
Jesus loves the adulterer.
Sometimes I think I don't realize what "living with Jesus" really means. Let's say you're an orphan, living in a land where no one will take you in. You wonder the dirty streets scraping for food, trying to find a warm place to sleep at night, not really trusting anyone because you've been taken advantage of too many times, and bored most of the time. And then one day you meet Jesus. Jesus welcomes you into his home. He provides you with shelter, food, and most importantly love. He calls you his child and you become part of his family. Not only do you now have a secure life, you have purpose. This family you've been adopted into is in the street cleaning business. You know first hand how dirty the streets can be and you always thought "If I could just make the streets a little bit cleaner, orphans like me would have a better place to survive." So here you are, cleaning up the streets, coming home to a loving family with your belly full. How different is your life!? How much better has your Father made it? So much! There are moments, however, when you're tempted to think, "I'm just a dirty orphan." How wrong would you be? In the midst of your warm home, full belly, and loving arms of family, you couldn't be more wrong!
And that's what we do, we forget where we're living. We forget what we have been redeemed from and will be redeemed from tomorrow and the next and the next. Jesus isn't going to send us back out onto the streets. We could choose to go back, but that's our choice not his. We can choose to leave the loving family and go back to the dirty streets. And we do, don't we? Sometimes it's hard to fully believe that Jesus is for real, that He really does want us, baggage and all. But He does. He does!!
I'm remembering today what Jesus has done in my life. I'm thanking him for the sin he has redeemed me from, for the love he gives me every day and for the hope he provides for tomorrow.
Remember with me.
