22 November | EVERYONE
«This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.» 1 Timothy 1: 15
The hour of death is approaching. Agony embraces Him as the crazed crowd mocks and ridicules Him. The soldiers wound and mock Him, but neither the pain of humiliation, nor the blood that runs down His cheeks, nor the shadows of suffering prevent Him from renouncing His work of salvation. After all, He knows why he came into the world.
Sin entered the world through Adam. And it destroyed everything. It ruined everything. The perfect world, which God had declared to be “exceedingly good,” entered into an irrevocable process of moral and physical disintegration after being infected with the pernicious virus of sin. Adam was not able to pass the test of faithfulness. The temptation to be God-like seduced him. That glow drew him in and plunged him into a sea of guilt and remorse.
With the advent of sin, the human species was doomed to a sad fate of destruction and death. Because sin is death. Not instant death, but a slow process of permanent agony that torments day and night and leads, in principle, to eternal death. From a human perspective, there was no solution to such a tragedy.
But then the wonderful person of Jesus emerges. His love, mercy, and grace are like the summer sun that dries up the earth wet with sin. He came into the world to save the sinful race. “A faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance.”
Take Action
It is interesting that Paul highlights his status as a sinner as the greatest (“the chief”). Once saved by Jesus, do not look down on the one who is still chained to sin. Remember that it was only God’s grace that freed you from those chains.