by Kala Loptien

A Sacrifice Like No Other

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5: 8, ESV

Recently, I started purposefully watching for generous and selfless acts of kindness. Our world seems so negative, divided and hostile. So, I’m on the lookout for those compassionate and gracious people who are willing to let others go first in line; who serve without expectation and love without limits. The good news is: goodness exists. There’s light in the world because of Jesus.

I read a book penned by a Christian author that referenced a specific scene from the favorite classic: A Tale of Two Cities. (I’ll skip right to the finale so we can arrive at the punch line.) Ultimately, the character Sydney Carton trades places with Charles Darnay in prison (they were similar in appearance). Sydney is put to death the next day and Darnay is free to live his life. The one with the death sentence was saved. The innocent man took his place and sacrificed his life. The author of the aforementioned Christian book finishes the recap and challenges readers to think about such a scene. What would it be like to have someone do that for you? I was overwhelmed by this. And then I was downright overcome. Someone DID!

“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 Cor. 5: 21, ESV

The sentence, the judgment, the punishment…that’s what we faced. We all fall short. We cannot save ourselves. We can’t even go a single day without sinning. We need a hero, a savior, rescuer, redeemer. Jesus took our place. He lived a perfect, loving, kind, humble, gracious life. And he suffered a painful, brutal, terrible death. Bearing the weight of our sins, He fulfilled what was written, completing God’s plan. For God so loved the world…

Because of what Jesus did and because this kind of love transforms our hearts, we get to see AND be glimpses of goodness. I pray that we all continue to focus on the new life we were given because of what Christ did for us; and that we continue to share God’s love with others.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado