Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Baby Food

Have you ever sat through a sermon on salvation or the cross and thought, 'Rats, I came to church today hoping to actually learn something'?  I have.  Up until about two years ago, that was what went through my head every time someone spoke on salvation.  'This message is for someone else.'  But it's not.  The cross is the culmination of the most perfect love story ever told.  It's the point where the Creator looks at His creation and says, "Even though you are the most unworthy, unlovely, sinful, and hopeless people, enemies of Mine, I want you to be a part of My kingdom.  I want you to understand why you were created in the beginning.  I want you to know what true love is."

If a husband or wife forgets why they fell in love in the first place, forgets why they devoted themselves to their spouse, they will no longer care for them and want to do things for them.  The same is true of Christians.  If we forget why Christ is worthy of our devotion, love, and service, we won't feel the need to give it.

Your mind may have twitched when I said we were " the most unworthy, unlovely, sinful, and hopeless people," but it's true.  Whatever the most disgusting thing you can imagine is, before Christ saved you, you were even more repulsive to Him than that.  Not only were we ugly, we were also enemies.  Humanity and God were at war, completely and totally at odds with each other and enslaved to sin.  But Jesus paid our ransom.  He bought us back from darkness and showed us the light of love.  Now we are reconciled with God - everything that caused us to be enemies has been removed, and we are called His friends and children.  What a thought!

Do you see now why it's important to never forget where we came from?  So next time you're sitting through a message on the cross, let it remind you why you should strive to serve your Savior, why you should lay everything aside and follow Him.  Remember how much He loves you, and never allow it to become "baby food."