Can we tell you something? You are not a monument of your mistakes. It feels like it some days, doesn’t it? Scratch that. It feels like it most days if we’re being completely honest.
I lost my temper, I lost my virginity, I broke her trust, I broke my vows, I said stupid things when I let my tongue slip and I spiraled out of control when I let that one sin slip back in.
It ain’t easy out there and it leaves you asking, am I still qualified?
We’re glad you asked.
Listen to what Paul writes in Romans 3:23-25: “..for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”
Every person (excluding Jesus) who has ever lived on earth and who ever will live on earth has and will fall short.
Paul? Murderer.
David? Adulterer.
You? Fill in the blank: _______
But Paul doesn’t stop there. He continues in 5:18, “consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.”
Did you catch it? That one man is Jesus. Jesus changes everything! We can trade our sins for Jesus’ righteousness when we confess with our mouth and believe with our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead (see Romans 10:9-10).
Levi Lusko puts it this way: “Jesus cleans the fish after he catches the fish.”
So that stupid mistake you made last year, and the one you made earlier today and the countless ones you’ll make the rest of your life are taken care of, paid in full.
See, you are not a monument of your mistakes. You’re far from it, actually.
“…You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” [1 Corinthians 6:11]
The takeaway? Grace is what the Bible is all about. Being broken qualifies you for God to use you and work through you. It is our prayer that you take this newfound freedom to glorify God, humbly serve others and build Christ-centered relationships.
One last thing: don’t use grace to justify an unchanged heart and a life consumed by sin. There will always be forgiveness, but sin always produces consequences.
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- Jared Iler // Creative Director at Humbled Daily, Wyoming native and lover of any workout that includes squats or muscle-ups!