That’s Grace!

Scripture Passage: Romans 3:21-31

“…since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his graces as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood effective through faith.”

These words that the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans get at the heart of our Lenten journey.  As we continue to walk toward Jerusalem and the cross, Paul reminds us today why we are on this journey in the first place.  The reason is simple and straight forward.  We are sinners.  We are all sinners.  There are no exceptions.  Each and every one of us has fallen short of the glory of God.  We were created in God’s image and, therefore, in God’s glory.  But we have fallen short.  We have failed to live in ways that illumine that glory.

Knowing that we are all sinners, God sent Jesus Christ into the word to be a sacrifice for our sin.  We could not pay the price for our sin on our own.  But nothing, not even God’s own Son was too costly of a price to pay to save us.  So God put forward Jesus Christ to die on the cross.  Now, through his death and by his blood that was shed, we are saved.  We are recreated in God’s image and glory.  That’s grace! 

Let us pray,

Gracious God, we come before you today as those who have sinned and fallen far short of your glory in which we have been created.  We give thanks for your gift of grace that you freely give to us.  As we continue on our Lenten journey, turn our eyes towards the cross and the sacrifice of your son who brought your gift of grace into the world.  Amen.