Never Forgotten

Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. (1 Corinthians 15:3)

Social Networking. Two words that were non-existent as little as three to four years ago. Today, social networking is as much part of our lives and our language as any other routine we go through. We bath and brush our teeth everyday, and then head straight to Facebook or MySpace to see what happened overnight. I know people that would skip brushing their teeth in the morning, but would never skip Facebook for breakfast.

Like many of you, I enjoy social networking. While I know that it also hurts our inter-personal skills, web sites like Facebook have enabled me to re-connect and stay connected with people from my past who I had lost contact with. And, like many of you, I have a profile on Facebook – mine reads “I don’t practice a religion. I live a faith.” And I will never change my profile in the eyes of God.

I have been overly blessed over the past eight years or so. I have been blessed that God has put me in the path of people that brought me to Christ, people that taught me about Christ, people who encouraged me to serve for Christ, and most of all, people who have sustained my faith in Christ. You know who you are.

That’s not to say that my walk or journey has been all lollipops and rainbows. I have seen peaks so high that I thought I would never land. And I have been in valleys so low I never thought I would be rescued. But by keeping God big in my life and myself small, God has always carried me in his mighty arms. And I’m no small package!

Maybe you have not been so fortunate. What I mean by that is maybe you find yourself “going through the motions” (thanks here to Matthew West) of religion, and find yourself stuck in neutral, or even in reverse.

Maybe you go to church every Sunday, and take communion once a month, and go through all the rituals we have filled our Sunday mornings with, and when you get home, you can barely remember what was said from the pulpit.

Maybe you pray as hard as you can, and your soul just continues to feel empty.

Maybe you think there just has to be more than this. You hear everyone talking about a “personal relationship with Jesus,” but all you see in and around your life, especially on Sundays, is people who look like they have this Jesus thing all figured out. They dress in their Sunday best, look like they painted on a permanent smile in the morning, carry around huge bibles, sing perfectly in church choirs or worship bands, and take scrupulous notes during the message or sermon.

And there you sit. Feeling inadequate. Feeling like you don’t measure up to the family sitting next to you. Feeling like God is keeping score, and you can’t even get close to the end zone.

If this comes even close to how you have felt at anytime in your walk, think about what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:3 – ”Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.”

That’s it. Done. No more, no less. Simple? Yes, but that’s all we need to know – that Jesus was killed – for you and me. That Jesus was buried – for you and me. And that Jesus was resurrected – for you and for me.

It all comes back to the cross. So the next time that your walk feels more like a chore, or when you feel empty, or that you are going in reverse, or that God may not love you unconditionally, think simply of the cross. And how God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him will not be lost, but have eternal life.