For the majority of my life I never really understood the reason behind why we celebrate Easter. I knew Jesus died on the cross and He rose again, that part I heard a thousand times, but I guess what I didn’t really understand was the significance of it all. As I look back, I wonder if the reason I didn’t grasp it was because I didn’t fully understand the gravity of sin?
Our culture for the most part doesn’t take sin serious, nor did I. I would agree that if you are talking about murder or some form of sin that is illegal, then it's taken seriously and there are consequences, but for the most part sin is disregarded and that made it very easy for me to ignore the sin present in my own life. I hadn't broken any laws or sinned in a “major” way, so for that reason I didn't think much about it.
My eyes have been open to a whole new perspective in recent years. I see now the, dysfunction, chaos and destruction sin causes in our daily lives. We see it hidden in our motives, it might be greed, jealousy, selfishness, revenge. Sometimes it’s not hidden at all.....but still, sin like anger, lying, drunkenness, coveting, lust or discontentment isn’t taken very seriously. Well at least I never looked at them as being very serious. They just seemed kind of “normal” I guess, acceptable.
That’s where my thoughts were a few years ago which made things more difficult when I began struggling with my anger. See, I never took my anger very seriously. Yeah, I had a temper, a lot of people do. I'd lose it pretty bad here and there. I'd feel the conviction, my conscience telling me it wasn't right. I felt bad for a little bit, but instead of seeing the sin as serious and destructive I began making excuses for it. I'd tell myself it wasn't “that bad” ..I’d justify it. I would convince myself other people were way worse than I was, that made me feel better. The more I made excuses for my sin the worse it got.
That’s the thing about sin, it’s never “small”. Sin always lead to more sin, which leads to more sin. As I headed down that path disregarding my conscience, God’s conviction, God's warning, I was becoming someone I didn't even recognize, someone I was disgusted with. It started so small, so innocent....but when I didn’t turn from my sin, when I disregarded the severity of it, I was left in a very vulnerable position. My naivety was the reason I kept plummeting deeper and deeper. The deeper I got the more impossible it seemed to win the battle with my anger. Like so many others, I wanted so badly to change….I was desperate to change... but I was in so deep. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't escape the sin that was dragging me under. It became so powerful and I felt so weak.
Seeing myself this way, being in a state of utter weakness might seem like a bad place to be and at the time I would have agreed. I would have done anything to escape it, but it was being in that place of desperation that showed me my need for the Lord. It was out of love that God allowed me to struggle so severely, it was only then that I got to see the weight of my own sin and the darkness, pain and suffering it caused so many. I was able to see who I was becoming without the guidance and strength of the Lord.
Pride is dangerous. It blinds us, keeping us from seeing the truth. It whispers to us that we have no need for God. It keeps us pointing our finger at the “sinner” so we never see our own sin. That's not a good place to be, I’ve been there. I am so grateful for the darkness I experienced because it humbled my heart and opened my eyes to my need for God. I see now that sin in any form, destroys lives, causes hurt and devastation, breaks up families and ruins relationships….but worse yet, it separates us from a holy God.
We “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23. Regardless of what our sin looks like on the outside, it separates us from God. We cannot escape sin, nor can we combat it with good behavior or good works. We often make the mistake of justifying our sin or believing it's “not that bad” or “not as bad” as someone else's sin. Often times society condemns people for certain sins, casting them aside or looking down on them. It's easy to point a judgmental finger, but in God's eyes we are all on an equal playing field. We are all dead in our sin and for that reason we are separated from Him.
At the core of God's being is His holiness and because of this He cannot be in relationship with us in our state of sin. Our sin is what causes the separation and that points to the severity of it. Considering we cannot pay the price or save ourselves from our own sin we need a Savior. Our sin needs to be paid for and Jesus Christ already paid the penalty with His death on the cross. He died a horrific death for the sins of the entire world. He was the only One who could take on the penalty for sin because He was the only One pure and perfect in nature, untouched by sin. He gave His life for us, He died so we no longer had to be separated from God. (“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:10)
The cross is God's statement of just how much He loves us. When we put our faith in Christ we are reconciled with God. It's God's grace that saves, it's nothing that we do. We can work hard in our daily tasks wanting to achieve excellence, but when it comes to salvation and our relationship with the Lord it will never be our good works, church attendance, prayers or perfect behavior that will pave our way to heaven or somehow make us right with God. It's God's grace that saves… Nothing else. (“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” Ephesians 2:8.)
I only started understanding the significance of Christ’s death on the cross when I saw my own sin. That’s where it all started. Lord, I pray that more people would turn to you with their sin. I pray that those who are engulfed in shame and guilt from it would understand how much you love them. I pray that they turn to you for help, healing, strength and forgiveness. I pray that those who seek you (including myself) aren't getting better at pointing out other people's sin, but rather seeing the weight of our own sin. I pray that we grow in humility and our love for others. I pray that you keep humbling my own heart, my children's heart, my family's heart, so we will all see our need for you every second of every day. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all that you’ve done for us
I love you
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