Do You Want A Life That Matters?
Good Morning Friends,
Everybody gets down, everybody gets angry, and everybody at some point loses the joy in their life. And a person’s question of me once wanted to drive me there but I resisted. The question was what do I need you for? It bothered me because it indicated the perspective of the person that needed changing. Not because I am so special but more so because I am not. Something was missing in their life that they could not possibly fix on their own. They needed Christ if they were to really experience the positive impact of
their existence. At first I wanted to punch this person in the face but then I wanted this person to take heart that they do not have to stay being a jerk forever. I wanted this person to realize that life’s biggest problem has a solution….that our lives do not have to be ruled by little deaths. I wanted them to realize that Jesus can revive joy. I wanted to ask them today’s question. Do You Want A Life That Matters?
Scripture: God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
1 Peter 5:5 (NRSV)
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned– sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Therefore, just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
Romans 5:12-19 (NRSV)
Message: Friends, if you want to experience a life that matters then learn that forgiveness brings life. Learn that the lowest are the highest. Learn that it is the nature of God’s distribution of His good gifts that the least, last and lost matter. Learn that to experience them sometimes we have to stoop down. The problem is that the overabundance of pride has turned humility into a resource of great scarcity. With that in mind let us turn to today’s question and scripture as a way of helping us prepare for Holy Week…as a way of helping us live out the experience of Lent. In it, I think, we can feel the reality of God and His promise of love in our lives…we can have hope and humility in the significance of one man. It is then friends, when we are humble enough to love those He loves, we discover the power of knowing God. That is the nature of personal resurrection. So as we approach Holy Week…as we read today’s scripture remember that hate is a slippery slope that can bring us to a cold hard experience that separates us from life. Sin can get the upper hand. So get a grip on grace. Be grounded in grace. Be grounded in Jesus. Remember that we are forgiven. Remind yourself that you reign and have dominion in life through Christ… that Jesus can rescue you when you are about to fall. Remember the good feelings you have when you are in the Word of God. Keep praying and keep reading if only a little bit. Find some time each day to strengthen your faith to get your inoculation against sin’s infection. Find joy in the little things each day…the smile of a child…the beauty of nature…a kind act and remind yourself that you are needed in the kingdom to manifest and share the grace. Your joy and the light you share is grounded in the hope we have in Jesus. And this is more important than most people realize. Finally, remember the source of joy… the object of joy… is not circumstances and people but ultimately Christ. Hold on to the source and giver of joy…. Jesus. Easter
Sunday is coming.
Pray we experience God and the abundant life He offers. Pray for all those struggling with pride. Help us to admit we need Jesus and each other. Pray that every valley shall be filled up and every mountain and hill made low. Pray we not think more of ourselves that we ought to think. Pray that we humble ourselves before the almighty God. Pray that we be humble enough to receive the full measure of God’s gifts to our souls without growing proud because of it. Pray we discover the joy, fellowship and unmerited grace in humility. Pray we realize that God cares about us so much that He sent His own Son to earth to seek and save lost men. Pray we realize that Jesus died in our place…even in the little deaths.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 