Photo by neal_johnson
By Mike Chaffin
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
Sometimes we get unwelcome news. We hear about a turn of events that hurt and throw us for a loop. The usual reaction to bad news is sadness, unbelief or, sometimes, outright denial.
When good news comes, we receive it with joy. The best news can lead to a life changing event like the announcement of having a baby, getting married or receiving a promotion. Our verse is called the Gospel which means ‘Good News’.
For anyone who has received this good news they know it is the greatest news they can ever hear. It is life changing. Today’s verse ties to #20 on our list of most searched verses. In #20 we talked about our response to Christ’s sacrifice. Now we see the reason our response is warranted.
God loves you. But we are all sinners. There is nothing we can do to deserve to go to heaven. We cannot be good enough or devout enough. Jesus made that clear in Matthew 7
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Matthew 7:21-23
Jesus also made it clear that while His sacrifice is for all of us, He doesn’t force himself on us. We have free will and have to choose.
“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 3:18-19
These two warning from Jesus compel us to accept His sacrifice and live for him and not for ourselves.
This verse is the best news one can ever hear or read. He loved us so much he died for us so we can live eternally. It really is life changing news.
Prayer: Dear Lord, I know you died for my sins. Thank you. I accept you as my Lord and Savior. Forgive my sins. Cleanse me and wash me. Fill me with your Holy Spirit so I can live in you and you in me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
* There is a website that conducted a search for Bible verses. They compiled a list of the verses in order of the magnitude of hits they got in their search. Some of these verses qualify as ‘people’s favorites’, while others might be on the list because they are some of the most important and most teachable words of God.
