The first verse I’m going to discuss in my return to writing actually brought tears to my eyes upon reading it. The verse was so real, so convicting, and so comforting that I had to go back and reread multiple times to let it properly sink in. The emotion struck me hard.
As referenced in my previous piece, it had been a very long time since I had actually read the Bible and felt any sort of connection or closeness to God while doing so. Why was this the case? Why didn’t every time I open the Bible I feel the power of Jesus? Why hadn’t I longed to connect with the Creator of the Universe on a more regular basis?
This verse addressed those questions and even a much larger, overarching one: Why did Jesus even come to Earth in the first place?
Matthew 1: 21 gives us the answers when the angel of the Lord addresses Joseph as he considers how to respond to his fiance Mary’s unexpected pregnancy:
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.
It’s so easy to look around and see that people clearly need saving. From when we turn on the news and hear of the atrocities going on across the globe to when we go about our everyday lives and see the imperfections in others, it’s obvious that this world and the people who inhabit it are not as they should be.
Why did I have such a rush of emotion upon reading this verse however?
I knew this world was broken and full of sin and knew the only way people could be saved from their sins was through Jesus.
I shed tears this morning because it reminded me that I too needed saving.
How could a man who professes to have a relationship with the Almighty Creator spend so little time getting to know Him in His Word and in prayer? How could someone be so preoccupied with himself that he ignores the One who brings any sort of relevance and meaning to what he does? How could a man be so full of sin yet be more attentive to others’ shortcomings in lieu of his own? How could such a man call himself a Christian?
God used this verse to strike me with the answer:
Brady, you too have fallen short; you too are in need of rescue; you too are why I had to die on the cross… you too need Jesus.
All of us (Christian or not) can see this world does not measure up. People are evil and can’t be trusted. Our systems are broken and don’t work as they should. Suffering is rampant and sorrow reigns. These things are no secret whether you believe in God or not.
It is much harder, however, to come to grips with the fact that we are also apart of the problem.
We too do not measure up to the standard God has set for us. We are evil and can’t fully be trusted. We are selfish and do not live as we should. Suffering is rampant and sorrow reigns because we refuse to live as Christ call us to live. These are truths much harder to deal with when we force ourselves to look inward rather than just outward.
Thankfully, God knows we can’t obtain the perfection He requires on our own; that it’s impossible for us to climb the mountain of righteousness to be in His presence; that we need someone to save us.
That’s why Jesus came. That’s why He died on the cross. That’s why I shed tears of joy on this day…
Because Jesus came and He saved me from my sins.
Thank you, O Lord.
-BH
Brady Hammond 