Miss the Mark?

Are you competitive?

My son went to archery with his physical education class this week.  He is very interested in it and enjoyed it immensely.

Did he get a bull's eye?

NO.

Did he want to?

YES!!

We want to think we are OK.

We don't like to think there is something "wrong" with us.

We like to think we are good people.

When a child takes a toy from a toddler, their instinct is to hit.

The instinct of that child is to hit back.

As parents, we intervene and teach that hitting is wrong.

We are to be kind, ask if we can trade.

Why?

If we are intrinsically good, why is it then wrong to instinctively want to take something from someone or to hit?

Where did this standard come from?

Thinking we are basically good by nature becomes harder after raising children :)

This has been another tough few weeks in the news. Chemical warfare in Syria, the US firing back, bombings in Egypt and the horrendous ever growing issue of child and human sex trafficking. Canada ranked 3rd in offenders of creating distributing and promoting this despicable industry that treats children, people as commodities.  It makes me nauseous!!

That is all the information that I need to know that there is something 'wrong' with humanity.

Easter is the biggest of the Christian celebrations.

Scripture tells us there is a standard of what is right and good and that we all fall short of that standard. It is not just some of us. ALL of us.  There is no room for self-righteous indignation at the situation of another. My eyes are on me, your eyes are on you and if we are honest with ourselves, we know there is something off and there is nothing we can do about it. 

We shy away from the word sin, but there it is. In my thoughts, motives, and actions.

I do not achieve the standard. 

I know it is wrong to hit and sometimes I still want to!

I miss the mark.

God is just, perfectly just. Sin has a price and in His perfect justness, that price needs to be paid. Being perfect, he comes to our rescue. 

He knows humanities plight. 

He knows we will never be able to pay the price.

So He does.

He rescues us.

 We were helpless to do anything and so He does.

We don't like this either. 

We want to be independent, believe we can do it on our own. 

We can't and so in rebellion, we try to prove we can.

But, He took care of it by sending Jesus. The only perfect one, worthy to pay the price.

It is too easy. 

I think that is why we fight it.

Or maybe we are overwhelmed by our dark nature and think we are still unworthy.

For whatever reason, we fight.

God has his arms wide inviting us to come.

In the Jewish Religion, one High Priest was chosen by lot to go into the Holy of Holies to represent the people of God on Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement, the Sabbath of Sabbaths. The Holy of Holies was guarded by a massive veil.  It kept the presence of God separated from us.  

When Jesus breathed his last, The veil tore.  There is no more separation, he paid the cost, the debt owed by sins for all time paid and we were given free access to God. We no longer need priests to represent us. We can go to Him ourselves. 

He has His arms wide inviting us to come!

To receive forgiveness we need to recognize that sin is an issue for us and Jesus is the answer.

God made a way through Jesus, we are covered by his blood,  our sin washed away. When we receive what Jesus has done on our behalf and recognize Him as our Saviour, we are declared righteous. We are justified. 

Sin previously separated us from God. Jesus took care of that. We get unrestricted access to God. 

All we have to do is accept the gift, our debt paid by another. 

But there is more!!

He conquered sin and death by rising.
There were over 500 eyewitnesses and the accounts were written within their lifetimes.
There are nonreligious historical evidence too if you research.
 If the accounts were false, there would have been plenty of eyewitnesses and documents to correct them.

This is where things really get good.

Now I am a child of God, a new creation.
Because Jesus rose, sin has no nold on me.

I am an heir, the glory of eternity is my inheritance.

Sin no longer has a grip on me and death has no sting.

I have access to God, a personal relationship with Him, not a set of rules to follow and sacrifices to make.
A relationship.
 He wants only my love.

This is why Easter is our biggest celebration.

Are you tired of fighting? Are you ready to receive Him?

There is great freedom here.

He is Risen!!