Your Consistent Savior – January 11, 2023

“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight. . . In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”
Isaiah 42:1,3,4

Your Consistent Savior

“It is not fair! Why can’t I have ice cream just because I didn’t eat my peas?” complains the seven-year-old at the dinner table.

“It is not fair!” mumbles the student after being grounded for getting bad grades.

“It is not fair!” sighs the groom-to-be upon hearing the terminal diagnosis just months before his wedding day.

Life is full of unfairness. Loved ones die before their time. The guilty go free. The wicked prosper. Life’s unfairness is a consequence of the sin we bring into the world. For our sin we should be cast away from God’s presence forever. That is God’s fair and just response.

Yet, when God our Savior saw us broken and dying under the weight of sin, he did not squash us, snuff us out, and start over. He chose to send his Son to bring justice into the world. And Jesus did not break or burn out under the pressure of saving us from our sins. He was tempted in every way but never sinned. And though he was without sin, he carried our sin to the cross. He willingly faced God’s judgment for us so that he could bring God’s justice to us.

And his justice rolls on like the tides. As the good news about Jesus is declared and shared throughout the world, people will come to his justice. He does not show favoritism or judge by appearances or hearsay. Because of his sacrifice for our sin, he declares us forgiven. Because of the righteousness he credits to us by faith, he declares us not guilty.

There is no condemnation for those who hope in the Lord, who live by faith in Jesus. Not now. Not on the Last Day. Not ever.

Prayer:
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Amen.