Last night I overheard a phone conversation where a person told one of my friends that Steve Jobs had died. He spoke with such a sincere somberness that it seemed that Steve had been a lifelong friend. When I later logged into Facebook, I saw numerous people had posted statements of commemoration, clearly showing the magnitude of his influence.
And such responses show the honor and gratitude we have towards the man. What we are saying is, “thanks Steve for your work, you have changed my life. And even though I do not know you, I acknowledge your influence.” This is the natural way we respond to people who die. We show much more gratitude, honor, and love towards those who impact and influence us the most.
But in order to show that gratitude, honor, and love we have to see how that person has impacted and influenced us. Right now I’m writing this on a Macbook, as I’m sure many of you are reading this blog on an Apple product. And almost all of you have Itunes and/or an Ipod. Very quickly we recognize the impact of Steve Jobs and his life’s work.
But I had to ask myself “Well, how much more gratitude, honor, and love does Jesus deserve?” And I realized how little I show it, simply because I do not fully understand or remind myself of the impact of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
I believe that one of the big reasons we have trouble acknowledging the magnitude of Christ is because we express it in a way the minimizes his life. One of the most awesome things we can ever say or acknowledge as truth is this: Christ died for my sins. Certainly an amazing truth, but this is the foundation, not the entire house. If we only understand and believe that Christ died for our sins, then our worship and honor is limited to that statement. In other words, the more we understand how big the gift is, the easier it is to show a gratitude, honor, and love that is truly deserving.
Scripture not only says that Christ died for our sins, but scripture expounds so much more and so beautifully the full impact of Jesus and his life; the word says that because of his sacrifice:
We now have peace with God – Romans 5:1
We are one with the Father – John 17:21
We have received the Spirit of God as to understand the things given to us by God – 1 Corinthians 2:12
We now have a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self control – 2 Timothy 1:7
We are fellow citizens and saints with the household of God – Ephesians 2:19
We are no longer slaves, but sons and daughters – crying Abba Father – Galatians 4:6-7
We are children of God – 1 John 3:1
We are now a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession – 1 Peter 2:9
We have authority and power over the enemy, rejoicing in that our names are written in heaven – Luke 10:19-20
We will do greater things than Jesus – John 14:12
We are no longer under condemnation – Romans 8:1
We are now dead to sin, and alive in Christ. – Romans 6:11
These are just some of the promises found in scripture, but hopefully we can begin to understand the greatness of the gift. Christ did not die merely to say, “Hey, good news! I’m not going to hold a grudge against all the bad stuff you did!” But instead he says, “Hey, your sins are forgiven so that you can know me, and know my Father.” That is the true impact of the gospel, and it deserves the greatest of praise.
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