Summer School: “Justification By Faith” — Monday
Romans 5:1
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. (NLT)
I’m going to share something I’ve never publicly talked about. Just before high school graduation, my guidance counselor called me to her office and gave me the news that I was going to be a couple credits short of graduating. The only way the situation could be remedied was with summer school. But summer school didn’t start until after our high school graduation ceremony. So as I and those in my class put on our caps and gowns, and as everyone began to celebrate, I was faced with the reality that I would be handed a blank piece of paper—instead of a diploma—as my name was called and I walked across the stage.
What I learned in summer school was not new. It was all material I had already heard but obviously needed to hear again. We’re in a teaching series called Summer School. Even Jesus’ closest followers, who heard every word of His teaching and were eyewitnesses to His miracles, quite regularly missed the deeper meaning of what He was trying to teach them. They had to hear the message over and over again. The Apostle Paul was faced with the same thing as he had to repeat himself through letters he wrote to the early churches. We’ll spend time this week thinking about justification, a theme that took early followers of Jesus some time to grasp.
As I reflect back on my high school experience, what seemed so devastating and defining at the time is almost entirely irrelevant 39 years later! It turns out that relearning is normal and worthwhile, and the passage of time in our lives can help us understand now what we may have not seen then. Oh, what time can do in our journey of growth!
Monday’s Reflection
I was given a blank sheet of paper when I graduated from high school. Ironically, that’s what Jesus offers us as we’re justified because of His sacrifice—a blank slate. Let’s live today as if that’s entirely true. We’re forgiven and free.
