Limits

When I was a child, I would always test my parents’ limits. I became aware by doing this which buttons I could push with my parents and which buttons were best left un-pushed. Sometimes unknowingly or un-wittily, I would still accidentally press the wrong button and regret it later.  Usually, this resulted in a punishment that was either physically painful or a creative punishment, but I still did not care for the results. All children do this, and I am sure as you are reading this, you are probably thinking of yourself at a young age when you tested your parents and went too far or did something that resulted in some punishment.  We can remember the correction that we received for doing what we did. We recognize the effect that it had on us and the outcomes that were the results of the mistake or the punishment.

Even as adults, we still make mistakes, test our limits, and do things we sometimes know or do not know we should do, which is called sin. We still face consequences for our actions which are sometimes more dramatic than when we were children. Sometimes resulting in ruined reputation, rumors, and slander against who we are or what we have or have not done. Sometimes things are true; sometimes they are false.

Here is the good news even though we mess up. Even though we deserve punishment for what we have done in our past, God still made a way for us to be forgiven of our sins and our wrongs and made a way to change our lives. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

Christ gave His life for you and me so we can be forgiven and have a clean slate. Though we deserve punishment, He took our punishment for us. Sin cannot and could not go beyond the cross. Our injustice is what crucified Christ, which became the way for us to be free. The sin of the world had a way of holding us with shame and hate; however, God’s plan of mercy and forgiveness through the death of Christ on the cross and His resurrection changed that. We are no longer bound to our mistakes and sins; our past was crucified to the cross when we believe in Him. He provided the way and the truth of God’s promise to us. If you can accept Christ by faith today, you can be forgiven for your sins. You can stand secure in the knowledge that through the love of Christ, your soul is saved through the love of God, and your soul is eternally saved. Are you willing to take that leap of faith? If not, what is stopping you?