Romans 5, The Message
6-8 Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.

This is grace. He meets us where we are and then HE helps us to clean up our act. Grace. Sweet grace. God does not need us. We need Him. Jesus saved our rebellious selves even when we were not ready…God’s love, “on the line” for us. He is the Only One who can wash us “white as snow”. We cannot save ourselves. We cannot clean up enough for His perfection, but He can do this work in us. Jesus makes us presentable and acceptable. Wow.

Think about it…

AND…I’m still thinking about the last line of yesterday’s passage: “…we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!”

Dear Heavenly Father, These rich nuggets of gold from Your Word each morning encourage and convict us all at the same time. Thank you for loving us so much that you put your love on the line for us through the sacrifice of Jesus…a part of You. Thank you for this amazing, relentless grace.
In Jesus Name, Amen