Romans 5:5-8 has infiltrated my thoughts today. It's a very familiar passage, one of those oft-quoted in Christendom.

"For when we were yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man, some would even dare to die. But God commended his love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

It's a simple verse, I suppose, somewhat self-explanatory, but nonetheless incredibly profound. The evangelistic message of the great Salvation afforded by Christ is easily understood, yet its worth and power is frequently overlooked and forgotten. How often do we read passages like John 3:16, I Cor. 15:1-4, or Isaiah 53:5-6, and simply gloss over the message? Or offer up a quick prayer of "yeah, thanks for that whole 'saving me from my sin' business, Lord. 'preciate it.", and simply go about our daily lives untouched, unchanged by the Holy gospel of God?

How often we forget the power, the glory of the simply, evangelistic message! When we were without strength, when we were filthy sinners, rotten to the core and unsalvageable by all accounts and for all purposes, the Holy God of the universe, creator of all things and the supreme power of all existence, laid aside his glory and came to earth. He stripped himself of certain attributes, those things which made him truly omniscient, temporarily gave up the power afforded him by virtue of his place as the second person of the Godhead, left the glorious halls of heaven, the company of angels and majesty of that eternal throne, and took upon himself frail, human flesh, was born of a lowly human girl, and laid in a dirty feeding trough the night of delivery. He lived a life of sorrow, a life wherein the beautious harmony with God the father was somewhat interrupted due to their positional separation, a life of poverty and persecution, only to give himself up to die the most painful, excruciating, soul-emptying, gut-wrenching, heart-breaking, unfathomably sacrificial death that has ever and will ever occur.

All that so that sinners like you and me, totally unworthy to even think of, to even write about or comment on the glory of God, could be spared eternal damnation and hellfire, and have an opportunity to spend eternal life with the allmighty, sovereign, glorified, only, saving, redeeming, undying, risen, coming King. All we have to do is accept it by Grace, through Faith, and all that richness is ours for the taking. Simply put, Christ took the bullet for us, his worst enemies and those who had hurt him the most. How unworthy we were, and are, and yet he still saw fit to do all that, simply for our eternal benefit.

If that doesn't make you stop and think, offer up a profound prayer of total devotion and thanksgiving, and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, there's something wrong with you. Or perhaps you've not yet experienced the love of Jesus Christ. There's no greater decision you could ever make. If you'd like to know more, please don't hesitate to drop me an e-mail at ELRavager@gmail.com, and I'd be thrilled to share more with you.

To God be the Glory,
David