Westside Church of Christ

The weight of our own sin is unbearable. Guilt is burdensome and depressing. We find ourselves under this heavy load day after day, minute by minute until we resolve to do something about it. Then we realize that we alone cannot lift it. Try as we might, it remains a

crushing problem. We cannot plead our innocence, and we have no way out of the penalty. Then there is Jesus.

The Lord knew the frailties of humanity from the beginning. The failures of people came as no surprise to Him, and He resolved long ago to provide a solution. His love motivated an extraordinary plan. The penalty for sin was expressed in the Garden of Eden and has not changed. The serpent successfully persuaded Eve. He will try to fool us, too. His methodology is the same: Surely, you will not die. He lied. He still does.

We fall for His deception and stumble. Or maybe we never start the journey. Still, God sees. He knows. The darkness isn’t simply all around us. It seeps into our hearts. It blurs our vision and muddles our thinking. The voice of the evil one grows louder as the word of the Lord becomes more distant. Internal hardness sets in and grips our soul. The Lord who formed us knows and desires to liberate us from our slavery. Sinners resist and retreat. Light hurts their eyes and exposes their behavior (John 3:19-21). Darkness is preferable. It is comfortable.

Jesus knows all about our struggles. He became one of us and experienced the tugs and tussles of being flesh and blood. He knows the rejection and betrayal in this world. His people refused to accept Him, and His apostles abandoned Him when He needed them most. Every human being let Him down. He knew they would. He came anyway. He gave His life anyway. His love did that.

The history of the Lord’s people is filled with misfits and stumblebums. There was not a perfect individual among them. We might hope that we would find the flawless in the church, but we don’t. It is a collection of the forgiven who are trying to work it out to be better. We study, learn and adjust. It is a lifelong process in which we change our thoughts and lives to match His desires. It is called repentance. His will be done. Starting with me. If that isn’t so, then I am not really a disciple.

The love of God sent His Son to deliver us from our sin. The Bible teaches us how to live as liberated people. We follow His steps and teaching to go where He is. The devil will muddy the waters and obscure the truth to lead us into lies and temptation. God is greater. He is truthful and wants us to be with Him. This is the story of the Son we share.