Once For All

"He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."  1 John 2:2


This verse has been on my mind and in my heart all week. I think it's only appropriate to share my thoughts today- on the day we set aside to remember Jesus and His sacrifice. First of all, that word "atoning". We don't use it a whole lot in our everyday speech. It means "to make amends for an injury or wrong." It usually refers to someone making their OWN fault or mistake right again. What's so significant about this word is that Jesus never MADE a mistake or had any faults. So why did He have to atone for them? Because He did it for us. For our sins. 


And then here's the part that blows me away- "and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." Did you catch that word "whole"? As in, the entire species, every race, every person who ever lived, every person who will ever live in the future. Every person who embraces Jesus' truth, every person who disdains and refuses it. Everybody. Rich, poor, black, white, young old, woman, man, child, parent, atheist, Bible-thumping Christian...He did it for everyone. And though the world chooses to remain in ignorance of what Jesus did for us on the cross, we MUST remember. We will NOT forget today, or ANY day that He paid the price for our mess. We will remember that when we put our faith in Jesus, the transaction was complete.


If the story ended with the death of Jesus, it would be a pretty bleak weekend. It would be a pretty bleak life actually. But we know in our hearts that He has overcome the grave. In a couple days, we will celebrate that truth. Had Jesus just died and stayed dead, I wonder what life would look like. It seems possible that we would still have some assurance of our sins being covered by His sacrifice. But we would have no hope. No power. No way to know that our futures were bright. I think this is the mindset of some Christians today- they know and understand that Jesus died, but they leave Him in the tomb. They never fully accept His power and live in the hope of the resurrection. Jesus did come back to life. He walked among His followers. It is corroborated by eyewitnesses in the New Testament and was miraculously foretold through dozens of prophesies in the Old Testament. It happened. And because it happened, we can be saved from a life of our sin and our meaningless selves and we can have hope for our present and our future. Jesus did that for us. Jesus did that for the whole world. 


A truth that goes unaccepted is still true, but a truth unapplied is like having a really awesome gift given to you and never opening it. Sadly, most of the world is willfully ignoring the gift and the giver. Most of the world is living either in denial or ignorance of the moment when God shattered the power of death once for ALL people. Do you know that Jesus died for You and that He was raised from the dead in a moment of pure power and victory? 


I'm filled with joy and peace when I say that I have embraced that moment in my heart more this year than any other year. I pray that you will do the same.


"Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when He offered himself."   Hebrews 7:27