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Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Ever felt helpless?
REALLY helpless?
One afternoon my youngest daughter was kind of wheezing a bit. She seemed like she was having an advanced case of the sniffles. Maybe a bit of a chest cold. She was one at the time so I didn't think too terribly much of it.
The day went on.
The wheezing turned into "breathing funny." A little bit of concern.
The "breathing funny" got serious over the next two hours. She was now, more or less, gasping to breathe.
My wife's face got this serious look that I'd be lying if I told you I wanted to ever see again. We were off to the hospital emergency room.
We got there and were filling out the requisite paperwork and then they ushered us back to a curtained makeshift room. Tracy and I handed my youngest daughter to the doctor.
"Fix her, Doc." I was urgent. I was desperate. I can't imagine what my wife was feeling. If he'd looked at me and said, "Okay, but it'll cost you every penny you'll ever make in your life," I would've gladly made that trade and signed on the dotted line in full compliance.
I had a problem I couldn't solve.
I knew where the person was that could fix the problem.
But I was helpless.
He took her away. He fixed the problem. Turns out it was an asthma-type thing that reacts to certain things and is easily solved with the correct meds, or maybe a breathing treatment here and there. She still uses a puffer on occasion.
But I was helpless and desperate.
And that's where we are because of our sin.
Check out Romans 3:23: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We all have sinned. Not one of us escapes, and if we're honest, we'll admit that not only have we sinned by what we have left undone but also by intent...or direct rebellion. We fall short of the glory of God. And, since holiness and unholiness can't mix we have a problem.
Check out Romans 6: 22 & 23(from The Message): "But now that you've found you don't have to listen to sin tell you what to do and have discovered the delight of listening to God tell you, what a surprise! A while, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God's gift is eternal life, delivered by Jesus, Our Master."
Did you catch that? If you "work hard" for sin over your life, the wages are "death." Eternal separation from God.
Eternal...
Separation...
From God.
That's the price. So, let me see if I have this right:
I'm a sinner by both heritage and my own volition. I'm imperfect. God is perfect. The two cannot mix at all. And because of this I'll be separate from God forever?
Yep. That's correct.
We should be desperate.
We should be urgent.
There's got to be somebody, somewhere who can somehow help us.
And 6:23 tells us that there is. Because God can give us real life through what Jesus brought to us.
There is a way to "fix it."
There is a "doctor" in our emergency room that not only has diagnosed the problem, but understands how to treat it.
In fact, He's already done it. All of it.
And that's the very best news on the planet if you think about it. There's none greater.
Tomorrow, we'll talk a bit more about how to take the medicine, but for today, think about if you've every really felt a "need" for Christ that was urgent and real. Think about how your life would be different if you didn't have the answer to the problem of sin. Really, how would your day-to-day, moment-by-moment life be different?
I'd suggest you'd feel hopeless and desperate and want to get it fixed...but what does that "look" like for you.
Brent 4:54 AM
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