May 9, 2014.

I have been thinking lately about what it will be like in the resurrection, when all creation is made new and we will dwell with our Lord as we did in the beginning. I imagine a land full of all the good we have today minus all the bad. If we were relying on anyone except The Lord God Almighty, this would be a naive dream with little substantiation. But we serve the one who made it all possible in the first place. I sometimes dream of that land where we will all be together, and completely satisfied.

But when I think about this land, there always seems to be a problem in my mind. How can we live in a land that is completely devoid of sin? It is very difficult for me to grasp this concept as I live in a fallen world full of sin. Sin is almost unavoidable. It is hard for me to believe that it could ever be avoidable, and that for all eternity. When I learn how this is possible, I believe I truly will have rest forever. Its times like this, however, that I think I can get a glimpse of what Christ has truly done for us. Yes, I do worry about sinning and try to be careful not to sin, but I have to remember that the price has been paid. I have been washed clean. Not me only, but all who have been united with Christ through his death and resurrection, washed by his blood. We are clean! We are worthy! And we need not worry.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
(Romans 8:1-4)

If we are in Christ, we are clean. There is no condemnation. We will one day live in that land divine with our Lord, to rejoice forevermore. Our joy can and should start now. So often in my life I have let the worry of sin take my joy of being a follower of Christ away. Now, don’t get me wrong, I do believe we can forsake the right way and be lost. However, I do not believe that those who are truly seeking will fall away. Those who truly love Christ. For these are his words:

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
(John 14:15-17)

There are definitely some hard things to understand in the bible, but I don’t think this is one of them. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. I think that is pretty simple, and there is so much beauty in its simplicity. If we love Christ, we are seeking his will, doing his commandments and have no need to worry because he has made us worthy. It is not that we were worthy on our own, or made worthy by anything we have done. We are worthy because we have been washed clean in his blood. And now we live the life that we are called to. Yes, we are going to mess up, but the mark of a Christian is one who can recognize the sin in their lives, own up to it and change it. That’s why David was called a man after God’s own heart. David messed up badly, and he messed up often. But when he did, he made no excuses. He accepted his sin and begged for forgiveness. One of the most exemplary passages that shows this is when Nathan the prophet is sent to rebuke David for his sin with Bathsheba:

“Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.”
(2 Samuel 12:7, 13-14)

David would then go on to write psalm 51. We see the character of David, not perfect, but godly. We are going to mess up. The only way we can fail is if we let this kill our spiritual walk. Carry on, my brothers. Carry on my sisters. There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. Let us forever stand in his glory.

Suggested Daily Reading: II Samuel 11-12, Romans 6, 8.

Be strong in The Lord and in the power of his might.

-Walter