For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21
Each of my children has gone through a stage where they loved to tell jokes. Some of their jokes were good, and some of them, well, I'm still trying to figure out the punch line.
One that stuck with me came from my daughter who approached me while I was frying eggs for breakfast. "Dad", she said "how can you eat an egg without cracking the shell?" I thought and then gave up. She replied, "Have someone else crack it for you." That one gave me a smile, but then again, maybe you had to hear it from my daughter to understand.
At any rate, Christians know that is exactly what Jesus did for us. So that we could live forever, Jesus cracked open the shackles of sin; He cracked open the slavery of Satan and He cracked the death grip of the grave. He did all the work, so we could have all the benefits. Jesus' life's work is a wonderful gift that is absolutely, totally free. Saint Paul said it better than I can: "For our sake He made Him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."
The only problem is that people aren't used to that kind of generosity. Life has taught us that there's no such thing as a free lunch. We know that when a deal seems to be too good to be true, it is. There is always a gimmick and a catch. If you feel that way, guess again. We have a Lord who has done the work, all the work, so we might have all the benefits.
From a devotion originally written for "By the Way"
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, for me and all of humanity, You cracked the curse of sin, undermined the devil, and defeated death. There are no gimmicks or catches here. Thank You for the free gift of Your life's work. In Your Name. Amen.
In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible Readings: Exodus 19-20 Matthew 27:27-50
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