By Margaret Bellers
How easily we judge others for their mistakes and failures! Yet, how quickly we become bitter when someone sins against us! When these things occur, the church can quickly transform into a place of judgment and hurt instead of a place of love and unity.
God notices our sin too. He sees how we hurt others. He sees how we hide and lie to cover our shame and guilt. He sees how quickly we judge. He sees the bitterness that takes root in our hearts when we’re hurt. In fact, “nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight” (Hebrews 4:13).
But when God sees our sin, he does not respond with judgment or bitterness as we tend to do. Instead, he looks to Jesus’ work on the cross. Every sin, the hidden and the hurtful, the big and the small, was taken care of by God’s own Son. Jesus is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)
When we are confronted with our sins or the sins of others, we can look to the cross too. Instead of defining ourselves and others by our mistakes and failures, we can define each other by Jesus’ perfect work. When sin leaves us hurt and disillusioned, we can turn our eyes upon Jesus, who brought redemption and peace through his death. We can forgive, not based on feeling or willpower, but based on the wonderful truth of Calvary.
Today we take Communion together, remembering that “he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).
As we eat and drink, let us not focus on ourselves or others; instead, let us fix our eyes on Jesus. When we remember Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice, we can know that we’re unified by what he’s done, not by what we’ve done.
While sin threatens to tear us apart, Jesus’ death on Calvary continues to knit us back together. What an honor it is to find ourselves side by side at the foot of the cross! What a privilege to be unified by Jesus’ completed and perfect work!
Margaret Bellers lives with her husband in Michigan. While often bed-bound with chronic migraines, she hopes to be able to serve others through her writing.
I used this this week. It is so true and powerful. Thank you for making it available
Very good read and it’s so true. Thank you for sharing. I pray for your chronic migraines. My wife deals with that same thing everyday. God bless you!
So true. I pray for God’s healing on you. Thank you for this piece!