Romans 5:6-8 (NLT)
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
A simple thought. It’s would be easy (ok… maybe not easy, but easier) to sacrifice myself for someone we deem or see as significant… a pastor, a family member, a friend. It would even be mentally justifiable to sacrifice myself for a “regular” person. But as I read this passage, the Lord gave me a vision of sacrificing myself for what we call the “scum” of society. Would I sacrifice myself and forever impact the future of my family, for a child molester? for a doctor who performs abortions? for a genecidal maniac like Saddam Huessien or Osama Bin Laden?
If I’m honest with myself, and honest with God, I could not do it. Even if God himself stood in front of me and in an audible voice commanded me to… I’m not sure I could do it.
But He needs me to be in that kind of place spiritually. He needs me to be that broken, obedient and loving. That’s exactly the place Jesus was at. That’s exactly the place he was when he crawled onto the cross. That’s exactly the place Stephen was as they were hurling stones at him.
I am not there.
I have a very long way to go…
great word shoe, you may have a ways to go but you have started the trip now and that can be the hardest part. i like this a lot, it really tugs at my heart.
Yup you do have a long way to go. One day you will be like me, a level 34 christian wizard, the Gandolf of christainese. Good word, I wonder what it takes to see those people as people we would die for.