Matthew 1:21
And she(Mary) will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
As Easter approaches, I can’t get this verse off my mind and frankly, it makes me angry. I am ticked that something as heroic and life-changing as “saving his people from their sins” has become churchy, cheesy, even corny. Because “saved” has become cliche, I think we are left with telling people “lesser” good news. We say that Jesus died so : “We could have a personal relationship with him.” or ” you can spend eternity with God.” or “to forgive our sins” or “because we could never live up to God’s standards of perfection“. I’m not saying that any of the previous statements are false-just incomplete. It’s kind of like advising someone to get married so that they can enjoy the benefits of filing a joint tax return. It’s not a false reason, It just highly undersells both the joys and responsibilities of marriage.
God is not a heavenly neat freak who is willing to forgive his earthly pets (us) for a few spots on the carpet (sin) so that we can be allowed into the house (heaven)! Instead, God is a Loving Father who hates Sin. Sin is the Crap we do that screws up our lives, and the lives of those around us! Ex. (God doesn’t hate adultery because its “naughty” or because it offends his morals for us to “get it on” with more than one partner. God hates adultery because it hurts children, rips apart families, and ruins lives!) Jesus loved his creation so much, he died to rescue us from living lives broken down and torn apart by the repercussions of our own harmful behavior (sin). If you think about it, being “saved” from our sins involves being forgiven, having a relationship with God through his spirit, and being part of his kingdom plan for mankind even after we stop breathing (heaven). I’ll take all of the above, please.
Final thought: Is it possible to be “saved (rescued) from your sins” and still go through life as a self-centered, sinful, jerk? Answer: Would we listen to “subway Jarod” tell us how eating subway sandwiches “saved” him from obesity if he was still a 400 pound fatty slamming down Big Macs? What do you think? Maybe if we bring “saved” back it will not only change how “Christians” think about Jesus, It may just change how everyone thinks about Jesus.
“Pep talk” over…Seacrest out.