The Free Gift of Eternal Life

Life in the Word - Devotion 3

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”. - Romans 6:23

Surprise! Jesus is surprising. At a wedding Jesus went to with his mother and disciples, the bride’s father faced great embarrassment. They had run out of wine! When asked by this mother to please do something, Jesus changed lots of water into lots of wine. When we think of lots of wine we may think of cheap wine that comes in a box with a spigot, available at warehouse stores. But this abundant wine was amazing. It was the best wine that guests had been served all night. How surprising!

Jesus is also surprising when it comes to following commandments. Take the fifth commandment, you shall not kill. You may think, “at least I’ve got that one covered, I never killed anyone”. But Jesus says, “Anyone who says, ‘you fool’ will be in danger of the fire of hell”. Hmmm, surprising. (Matthew 5:22) Or maybe you think you have the 6th commandment down. You have been faithfully and happily married for over 10 years. Or you are contentedly single. But Jesus says, “Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:27. Again, there are surprises in our understanding of these commandments.

For every commandment we can find a, “but Jesus says…” and we realize we’re cooked! We have broken every last commandment. But thanks be to God, who has the victory. He is victorious over every sin, every thought, and every wrong motive. He forgives everyone who says, “I’ve done it wrong, I’m sorry, I want to change.” Only too well the commandments show us our sins, but they also show us our need for a Savior. Surprise! We have one in Jesus.

Lord, we are so sorry we have broken every commandment. Take our load of sin, guilt and despair because we cannot bear it. Take it far away like you promised. …. Now with our load lightened, help us walk according to your ways. Amen.