Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the undeserved gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Dear Heavenly Father,
The wage of every sin we commit is a death sentence; there is no wiggle room or loophole in your words. A wage is given to someone in exchange for what they have done. This verse explains why death is in the world because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God—your glory. The child in the womb, the infant, the toddler, the teen, the college student, parents, and grandparents no one is exempt from death. These verses are hard for people to understand because we want to see the good in people—the innocence of youth. Today we pray to understand your truth, not our reasoning or logic, but what your word tells us.
If one cannot accept what you said in the first half of this verse as truth, one cannot believe the other half. “But the undeserved gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Jesus came here to suffer and die for the entire world’s sins, and that is everyone. You use faith to bring this gift to us, and while we might not know exactly how this all works together. We can know that “Jesus loved me; this I know for the Bible tells me so.” We hear toddlers proclaiming Jesus’ love at the top of their lungs, knowing their Savior. Just as that infant quickly learns that someone will come to their needs if they cry, they have faith in their 2 am cry alarm. They, too, can believe Jesus loves them. When a person suffers from dementia and no longer remembers their family but can still remember the words of the Lord’s prayer, faith is there. Saving faith is in our Savior Jesus, who suffered and died on the cross for all our sins; he died so that the underserved gift of love would cover all who believe, granting them forgiveness and reprieve from all sins’ guilt and shame.
Lord, forgive us when we doubt the power of your undeserved love; let us share this message with those we encounter today so that they may also believe and receive your gift of eternal life, which comes to them and us through faith in Jesus. Amen.
Written through Pastor Roger Emmons
God’s mercy is this: we deserve eternal death for our sins, but for Jesus’ sake, we receive eternal life through faith in him. Jesus credited all his believers with his perfection; then he died on the cross to pay for their sins, so we are saved and have eternal life through faith in Jesus.