Because of Jesus, we are restored to a solid relationship with our Creator God. And, because he built it right, it will stand forever, whatever comes our way!
In 2009 a newly constructed 13 story apartment building in Shanghai China collapsed. The pilings just pulled out of the ground and it fell over on its side. Thankfully, the building was not inhabited. An inquiry into the accident pointed to building standards that were overlooked in favor of speed of construction.
Impatience is such a human problem. We see it in the way we live, eat, drive, and spend our money. We just cannot seem to wait for anything. We see it when we look back to our very first parents, Adam and Eve. There in the garden they fell to the temptation to take a short-cut in getting the knowledge that God possessed. They ate the forbidden fruit, and as they ate, humanity’s relationship with God collapsed.
In response to this disaster, God launched a rebuilding program by which he would restore his relationship with us. This rebuild took time and it cost him dearly. As we hurry our way through our lives at the frantic pace we often set for ourselves, we should remember that God took no short-cuts in his building program. He used the best he had; he used his Son who took the nails and the timber of the cross, and in this scene of judgment, Jesus was transformed into the guilty object of God’s wrath in our place.
By His act of selfless sacrifice, Jesus reconstructed us. He took the crushing weight of our sin off us, and in its place, he covered us with the robes of his own perfect righteousness. In this act, He transformed us from guilty sinners into righteous saints in the eyes of God. The Apostle Paul put it this way,
"For our sake God made Jesus, the one who knew no sin, to be sin in our place, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)
We want glory, and we want it now! But Jesus came to be our patient and suffering servant. Because of him, we now stand on the solid foundation of God’s complete forgiveness with the sure hope of eternal glory. Because of him, when we are burdened by the guilt of our sinful short-cuts to earthly pleasure and glory, God assures us that he has clothed us with Jesus’ righteousness. Because of him, we are restored to a solid relationship with our Creator God. And, because he built it right, it will stand forever, whatever comes our way!
When we are wounded by being used or passed over by others, he embraces us with the value of the price he paid to reclaim us. When we are tempted to see ourselves as forgotten outcasts, he steadies us with his purpose for our lives. When we are afraid of an unknown future, he calls out to us that nothing can separate us from his love. When we are disillusioned by investing our lives in the temporary things of this world, he lifts us out of the ashes of disappointment to the freshness of the new beginnings he brings to our lives. To God be the glory!
