Wallow No More

And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. (Romans 5:9-11 NLT)

The blood of Christ was shed, not just because he angered the Jewish leaders, but because our restoration into right relationship with our heavenly Father required a holy and pure sacrifice. What could never be accomplished by any other means was provided, once for all in his Son, Jesus Christ. Now, through faith, and not our own works, we are restored into right relationship with God. We might want to describe it as a 'friendship' with God, but we must never take this relationship for granted. The very thing that stood in the way of us enjoying a relationship of 'free access' into the throne room of God cost the life of his one and only Son!

We must never take our relationship with God for granted or treat it as though it is like our earthly friendships. We aren't 'casual' with God like we may be with our earthly friends, but we are open and honest with him. There is a free flow of communication between us. There is an exchange of sorts that takes place when we spend time with him. Yet we cannot take for granted any part of this relationship. There must always be an awareness that we step into his holy presence - standing before him on holy ground - with sins forgiven and lives renewed.

We are no longer enemies of God. At one time, when we chose to live life by our own terms, allowing our own lusts and desires to dictate how we lived and who we chose to relate to in this life, we were alienated from God's presence. Our sinfulness kept us from enjoying 'free access' into his holy presence. By the blood of Jesus, that access has been granted and is maintained. We did nothing more than accept that gift of access through the blood of Jesus. Even our faith wasn't ours - for God gave us the faith to receive this free gift of grace.

We might want to wallow in self-condemnation for a good long time, but God sees nothing more in us than the beauty of his Son's gift of grace. Sin produces guilt and guilt makes us 'wallowers'. A pig wallows because it knows nothing else to do to protect itself from 'exposure' to the heat of the sun. We wallow in our shame and guilt because we know no other relief from our exposure to sin. That changes the moment Jesus washes us clean and provides a 'covering' that is like nothing we can produce ourselves. We don't need to wallow any longer for the covering of his grace is the best protection we could ever find. Just sayin!