Series: Renewal
Ephesians 1:7 ESV
Romans 3:23-24 (All have sinned)
I John 2:2 (Sins of the World)
Ephesians 1:3-10, ESV
The first encounter I had with a person who knew very little about Jesus happened one summer afternoon when I was a young Pastor’s wife.
We lived in a parsonage behind the church and I walked to church that afternoon to make sure everything was in order for the upcoming service.
While I was outside I saw a young woman who was about 19 or 20 years old walking near the church. She was crying and I asked her if she was okay.
She shook her head yes, but then she burst into tears.
It was clear she wasn’t okay.
I asked her if she wanted to sit and rest for a bit and she shook her head (signifying a yes). When she stepped inside I asked her if she wanted to talk or if she wanted to be alone. The church was open during the day so that anyone could go inside to pray and I told her she was welcome to sit by herself for a while or we could talk. I told her I’d be glad to pray for her if she wanted prayer.
I was a little surprised that she said she’d like to talk and she would like it if I would pray for her. I was surprised because many people are not comfortable speaking with a stranger.
Once we were seated, she looked at me and she burst into tears,
Then she told me her story.
It wasn’t an unusual story. I’d heard the same story before from other young women. She met a guy who promised her the moon and he left her when he found out she was expecting his child.
After she finished she told me she knew what she did was awful and she knew God would not forgive her.
I told her God loves her.
God loves YOU.
Jesus died for you, and Jesus died for me. I told her she has been redeemed.
I told her I’ve also been redeemed.
Ephesians 1:7 tells us , “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.”
She asked me why I needed to be forgiven…had I been in her shoes?
Over the course of the next hour I told her “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23-24) and fall short of God’s glory. I told her Jesus died for all of us (I John 2:2).
I wasn’t told why but she believed her sin was a really bad sin…
I told her she was welcome in our church. She thought no one in church would forgive her and I assured her the people in that congregation would certainly forgive and love her. I knew I could say that because every member in that congregation loved. They were humble and they truly loved everyone.
She indicated she had already asked God to forgive her but she didn’t feel forgiven.
I prayed for her and asked God to make His great love for her evident in her heart. I asked God to keep His love before her, behind her, beside her, and above her.
I told her she was loved by God and by other believers.
At that time there was a saying that I shared with her, “if you you’d have been the only one, Jesus would have died for you.”
She asked me if I believed that?
I assured her I did believe Jesus loves her that much!
As I was writing this I looked for a citation of that saying and St. Augustine of Hippo (who lived 354 A.D. to 430 A.D.) said something very similar when he wrote, “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.”
When the young girl left that day she was no longer crying.
I never saw her again, but through the years when God brought her to my memory I prayed for her and her child.
I know God honors that prayer.
I met that young girl nearly 40 years go.
In Ephesians 1:3-10 Paul wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”
We stand holy and blameless before Him as adopted sons and daughters when we turn to Jesus. God lavished the riches of His grace on us. It IS a mystery. It IS God’s plan for the fullness of time. It IS for all.
Spiritual Practice: Receive
Receive the mystery of God’s grace.
In God, Deborah
Comentários