Saving the World

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

Her face contorted into a frown as she tried to understand.  "Okay.  Let me get this straight.  Jesus loves me and He showed it by dying for me?"
"Yes, that's correct," the teacher gently reassured the confused 10-year-old girl.
"Well, that's stupid!"

Stupid Yes, it is stupid in the mind of a human accustomed to an "every-man-for-himself" kind of attitude to run into the One who loves us enough to sacrifice His life so that we can live.  As Paul said in Romans 5:6-7, "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  While the girl's words seemed harsh and disrespectul, I have to admit she has a point.  Who does that?  And Why?

Jesus   Not only did Jesus die a brutal death, taking the punishment God requires for our sin, but He also agreed to come into the world He created, knowing full well how He would be treated.  Jesus knew the hearts of men.  (John 2:24-25)  Nonetheless, He obediently entered the fallen world as a baby, the son of a lowly Jewish carpenter.  He lived an ordinary life of obscurity until His time had come when He began to show the world the realities of His Father's kingdom.  He possessed an attitude of humility, even though He was God in the flesh, "he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant," (Philippians 2:7).  The  very idea is. . .well. . . stupid!  But Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice in order to restore our relationship with a Holy God.  As the lyrics of a 4Him song proclaim, "this is such a strange way to save the world."  But without this "strange", "stupid" sacrifice, we would be doomed to a shallow, meaningless life ending with an eternity seperated from God and devoid of all good.  (James 1:17)

Helpless  The reason Jesus had to make such a profound sacrifice was due to our complete depravity.  For a brief time, I served as a lifeguard at a water park.  Knowing that the lives of so many were in my hands was a sobering thought.  Part of our training included practicing saving drowning vicitms in deep water.  That victim has no other hope than the lifeguard for there is no way they can save themselves.  We were instructed to swim up from behind and underneath and quickly place the victim into the lifeguard carry, swimming the two of us back to safety.  Without a savior, the swimmer would have died.  It is the same with us.  We do not have the ability to save ourselves from the inevitable consequence of our sin: death.  And perhaps even worse, we are helpless to restore the broken relationship between God and ourselves without the redemptive work of Jesus.  His "stupid" act of sacrifice, saved this helpless soul from an eternity seperated from my Creator.  Unspeakable.

This Christmas season, as I go through all the preparations for the big day, I purpose to keep these thoughts in mind.  God showed His great love for us by sending His precious Son into a depraved world in order to save that world from the consequences of our sin and restoring a right relationship between the created and the Creator.  

As I begin this day, it is my prayer that I will truly appreciate the sacrifice Jesus made in lowering Himself to the status of a mere man, that I may boldly approach God's throne of grace. 

Where do I fail to realize the sacrifice Jesus has made for me, and how does this affect the way I live my life?

How is this failure evident in the way I treat those around me?