I decided to do something new this year as we enter the week leading up to Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Because one of the greatest gifts that happened on Calvary was the gift of grace, I’m going to take each day this week and focus on that. I thought it would be good to remind myself of that amazing grace every single day. If you’d like, feel free to follow along throughout this week.
This week I have taken a personal journey through what I have called “Grace Week.” As I sat in church last Sunday I felt like it was what I needed to do personally. I needed to spend this week reflecting on grace that was poured out on this day. I needed to reflect on how I walk that out as a follower of Jesus. As I looked back over the years of my life, I found that I’m not so good at that. When it comes to grace, I am not amazing. It is when I begin to feel the weight of my failure that I hear…
Not guilty.
The reality is that the few true stories I’ve shared this week were cherry picked from my massive pile of failures in grace. Right next to my pile of failures in grace is my pile of failures in character. I have a pile a mile high of my failures in extending love. Words can’t describe my pile of sin. It’s not pretty. Not pretty at all. When I rewind the DVR of life, it feel the weight of it all. It’s then that I hear….
Not guilty.
When I look in the mirror, I don’t like what I see. I’m not talking about appearance, that ship sailed long ago. I’m talking about the mirror of interior. I’m talking about my mind and what it thinks. I’m talking about my eyes and what they see. I’m talking about my ears and what they hear. I see the heart and what it should beat for and what it rarely does. When I look in the mirror, I feel the weight of it all. It’s then that I hear….
Not guilty.
Today is a day of reflection. If you’re like me, I reflect on all that I’ve listed above. That list was nailed to a cross that wasn’t his. If you’re reading this, it wasn’t just mine, it was yours too. Because of that sacrifice, each of us stand in the court of God and hear….
Not guilty.
On Sunday morning, we’ll dress in our spring colors. There will be baskets and straw, eggs and bunnies. For those that have accepted the verdict of “not guilty” there is hope. There is celebration. There is “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). Sunday is the celebration. Today is the memorial. Today is the reflection. Because of the events of today.
You and I are not guilty.
Amazing grace.
