Fun in the Son…Freedom with Christ
So, if the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed. (John 8:36, NIV)
July 22nd, 2022
RELINQUISH: the COST of GRACE
I think the best example ever set for mankind—Who depicted an image of what relinquishing really means—is Jesus. When He hadn’t done anything wrong, He still never waived what God the Father had Him come to this world to do, and that was to rescue and redeem humanity. So, how much does Grace cost?
Would you die for someone else? I think all the time, tritely almost, I would die for one of my children or my grandchildren. But when I really contemplate my bold statement, I questions myself, would I really? I have been knowing as I become honest with myself that I am a very selfish person. I believe that I would, but I wonder if I would jump to save myself first or instead. I am scared. I am fearful for what would befall any one of them to require giving my life and how painful it would be for them. But I also think about myself, and how painful that would be for me. I am innately selfish and self-absorbed and battle the ‘Me First’ mentality of my generation. Entitlement is now even more pronounced, and is a given, not a concept, and so distrust swings on the hinge of narcissism and egotism.
But, this Jesus, He came to serve, not be served. He came to die for the wretched and wealthy all the same. He came for the lost, but He loved the lovely also even when they couldn’t get out of the way of themselves. The same rain that falls on the rich falls on the poor. We are the product of His Father’s fascination and design, the intention of His heart.
So Jesus abandoned His throne, put on human flesh and came through the ages to step into our world, to understand and relate to us. He saw me. When the stain of sin’s tarnish tainted you and me, He set about making a way for us to be cleaned and unblemished and whole again. You know, one of the hardest things for me to reconcile, is when Holy God calls me righteous. God the Father sees me as righteous because He is viewing me through the lens of His Son, who heaped my sin upon His head and bore my struggle and carried my baggage all the way to hell.
Even like me, Jesus didn’t want to go through with it, this crazy redemption His Father asked Him to do on my behalf. He said, “Father, if there’s any other way for You to accomplish what You must without Me having to go through with this, would You please do that, Father?” There was silence in return. So—unlike me—Jesus never waivered. He relinquished the right to His throne, the spotless, blameless Lamb, took on my sin, so I could be white as driven snow, the stain of His crimson blood washing me clean, my stench removed by the fragrance of life and grace. How incredibly humbling, to know the weight and magnitude which took Him to the cross, the amount of that check He covered for me on the day my ransom was paid.
There will never be another Who has relinquished so much on behalf of someone else, a bunch of nobodies, really. It was all about Grace and its cost. But, I am so glad He did. His relinquishment gave life to me and you, everlasting life, and therefore, true freedom.
John 1:14, ‘The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, generous inside and out, true from start to finish.’ (MSG)
Out of all the living things God made, He created mankind to BE. Whatever, whoever, you are, Beautiful You, BE the best version of you; BE the change this world needs; BE filled; BE free!
