Hello! Today, I want to talk about my favorite Bible verse. Most Christians have a favorite verse and I think whatever it is says a lot about you and your personality. I have lots of verses that I love but one that has always stuck out to me is this one:
"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
Now, if you just read that once, you'd probably think about how God loves you so much that He was willing to die for you. And yes, that's true. But if you read it again, then maybe you'll notice how it also says "While we were still sinners". Jesus died for us while we were still sinners! Think about that for a minute. How cool is that?! I mean, it's cool that He would die for the people that love and obey Him but how much cooler that He died for sinners too?? We're all sinners. Not one of us is without sin. If Jesus would have died for only those without sin... there would have been no point to his death on the cross. He died to pay the price for the sins that we have committed.
Not obeying your parents, fighting with a sibling or a friend, being prideful, angry, lazy, or greedy, having a god other than Jesus, using the Lord's name in vain, murder, hate, adultery, sexual immorality, homosexuality, stealing, dishonesty, deceit, boasting, and lustfulness are all sins that the Bible warns us of. And because Jesus died to pay the price for our sins, we can be forgiven if we repent of our sins and ask Jesus to come into our lives. I'm not saying that Jesus will forgive you of your sins and you'll never sin again. Definitely not! But I am saying that Jesus will forgive you and if you give your life to Him, read His Word, and obey it then you will learn how to live a life pleasing to God. This still doesn't mean you'll never sin. You will, because you're human and it's been that way since Adam and Eve. But with God guiding you, you will be a better person than you were because God is the one leading you!
And that leads me to my second point. If God could die for us while we were still sinners, then shouldn't we be able to love our enemies as well as our friends? So often, we want to avoid the people we don't like because it makes us uncomfortable or it's not as fun as being with the people you do like. But God didn't come to Earth to hang out with all the people who had lived their lives for Him. No, He came to be with the sinnners and to save them. He didn't spend all of His time with the religious people. He spent it with tax collectors (Zacchaeus), trouble makers (Saul), and the sick (lepers, the blind, crippled, paralyzed, etc.). So if we strive to be like Christ, shouldn't we not shy away from sinners and others whom we don't want anything to do with? Shouldn't we go to them and tell them the good news? How Jesus loves them and can forgive them? How they can live their lives for Him and one day go to be with Him in heaven?
I wonder why, we as Christians, don't spread the news of Christ everywhere we go. The cashier at the grocery store or fast food drive-through, the waiter at a restaurant, your classmates, the person you accidentally bump into in public, the stranger who opens the door for you, your boss, coworkers, and Uber driver. There are so many opportunities to spread the good news, especially through social media. We should take advantage of these opportunities and use them to shine a light for Christ. We need to love our enemies the way Jesus loves His. We need to set an example of love for those who have been deceived by all of the judgment that so called "Christians" throw at them. We need to speak out boldly of the love of Christ to everyone around us and not be ashamed of the gospel.
These are things that I need to work on. And maybe you do too. I hope that, in some way, this encouraged you to go tell the next stranger you see that Jesus loves them. We tend to be afraid to do these things because we're scared of what people will think. Well, let me remind you of something: Don't be afraid of what other people think of you. Worry about what God thinks. How you can please Him. Because, when the day of judgment comes, no one else's opinion is going to matter... except God's.
"When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked His disciples: 'Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?'
On hearing this, Jesus said to them, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'" Mark 2:16-17
"You have heard that is was said, ''Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?" Matthew 5:43-47
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