The Verdict Is In: The Peace of God — Monday
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (NIV)
When I was in the 5th grade, my siblings and I got ducks for Easter. Now, before you breeze past that statement, let me shed some light on the whole picture. We did not live on a farm. We lived in a subdivision, had no experience raising animals, and had no coop or cage for the ducks. (Do ducks live in coops or is that just for chickens?) I can only assume that there was a plan to house, feed, and take care of them after they were bought. Anyway, we were surprised with 6 baby ducks. We were excited to see the cute fuzzy animals. I remember reaching down into the box to pick up one of them. It was so soft and fragile. I knew instantly that I was going to devote hours and hours to taking care of its every need. Then without warning it pooped on me.
I’d love to tell you that I cleaned up, and then, despite our first meeting, I took those ducks under my wing (pun intended) and spent a lot of time taking care of them, but that didn’t happen. After his unfortunate “greeting,” I wanted nothing more to do with them.
Each Easter we come to church to celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ. Similarly to the ducks, we bring nothing to the table. We can’t save ourselves, we need God to rescue us. And so He did. He sacrificed His only Son to die a brutal death and to take the punishment for our sins. He gave us everything, and too often we thank Him in the same way the duck thanked me for taking care of it!
Today, let’s give God the thanks He deserves. Let’s tell Him we’re not worthy of the Gift given to us, tell Him we’re sorry for the times we’ve messed up or tried to do things our way, and thank Him for the unspeakable gift of forgiveness and eternal life that is only possible through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus!
Monday’s Reflection
Today, the challenge is very simple. Set an alarm to go off on your phone every hour today. When that alarm goes off, stop, take a few moments to pray, and thank Him for Jesus. Let today be a day devoted to giving thanks to our Lord!