Have you ever driven up to the drive through window of a fast food restaurant
and been surprised by the fact that the person before you paid for your food? How
delightful is that? To have someone pay for something you were going to have to
pay for anyway is amazing. It's so nice that you may even want to pay for the
person behind you.
Do you think anyone in this situation would say: 'I understand that my meal
has already been paid for, but let me pay for it anyway.'? Your probably
thinking that would be a silly response. If it's already been taken care of
then why in the world would you want to pay for it again? What's the use in
wasting your money that way? It could go to something much better, like paying
for the next person in line or something for a friend or loved one. Why bother
paying for something that has already been paid for?
Your right, it is silly. So why as believers, when we mess up and sin do we
insist on trying to 'pay' for our mistake? I find that often times when I make
a mistake instead of accepting God's mercy and forgiveness for the situation I
will instead waste time trying to make up for the sin. I may do it by spending
the day angry at myself or by trying to be the best Christian I can that day,
but all in all it seems that I am trying to pay for something that Jesus has
already taken care of.
Why is it that as Christians we tend to get wrapped up the idea that our
works will fix things? The bible tells us that we are not saved by works but by faith. If our works don’t fix the big issue then
why do we so often try to use them to make up for our wrongs after we’ve
already been forgiven?
We are not worthy, and the bible tells us that our righteousness is like
filthy rags to God, but through His son he has made us righteous in Jesus. The
author of Hebrews tells us that we can boldly approach the throne room of grace
because of what Jesus has already done for us. And it is by faith that we are
made righteous not works.
We've got to get it in our heads that God is no longer mad at us. All of God's
anger was poured out on Jesus at the cross. He has reconciled
himself to us, and our only job now is to be reconciled to Him. We don't have
to work to gain that approval or recognition, we just simply have it because we
are children of God. His love for us has no bounds and will not stop simply
because we messed up, no matter how 'big' that mess up may seem.
Because of what Christ already did for us we have the freedom to realize our
wrongdoing and repent of it, asking God in the process to give us the strength,
wisdom, and conviction to make the right choice next time. We don't have to
wallow in self-pity or try to make up for it with some kind of penance. We
simply need to accept His forgiveness and move into a deeper relationship with
God. We don’t have to spend the day worrying that God is mad at us because He’s
not. He waits patiently for us to accept the forgiveness that Jesus already
paid for and enter boldly into His throne room to draw closer. And as we draw
closer to the Lord we become more like Jesus. As we become more like Jesus it
becomes easier for us to live life according to how He lived it. Don’t stall
the process by rejecting what Christ has already done. Don’t try to pay for
what has already been paid for.
Think about the fast food analogy next time you feel like you have to make
up for a sin and instead of choosing to waste time choose to enter into His
presence and let His love remind you of who you are in Christ- an over comer. I dare
you.
~Dawn
