Before the fall was a world in which no one could deny God. Before the fall, we were pure and blameless. Before the fall, there was no need for wrath or judgment. Before the fall there was no need for a savior.
After the fall exists a world in which many deny God. Many turn, instead, to earthly idols like pride and greed. After the fall, we became sinful and shameful. After the fall, we became deserving of wrath and damnation. After the fall, we were in need of a savior.
Despite our ugliness and brokenness, God continued to love us so much that he couldn’t bare to leave us alone in the darkness that we brought upon ourselves. He couldn’t bare to leave us broken.
So he intervened.
While we were still ugly and broken, God sent us a free gift, a token of his undying affection. He sent us a sign of his mercy, a new hope that we need not continue to live in bondage to our shame.
He sent us a savior.
We could not pay the price for our wrongdoings on our own. There was no way we would be able to repair our brokenness on our own, but He could. There was no way we could make ourselves beautiful, cleanse ourselves of the sin and the ugliness that had stained our once perfect image, but He could.
For us, Christ accepted the punishment for our sins; the punishment that we deserved. For us, Christ bore the wrath of God, wrath that should have been directed toward us. For us, Christ died in our place, and was condemned to the darkest depths of hell.
But Christ did not stop once our sins were forgiven. God had a plan that included much more than putting our broken pieces back together. God had a plan that included much more than taking us back to the way we were before the fall, when we were pure and blameless without need for a savior.
On our behalf, Christ did what no one else could do. On our behalf, Christ conquered the devil so that, through Christ, sin no longer has power over us.
But Christ did not even stop once sin no longer had power over us. God had a plan that included infinitely more than we could ever attain on our own, for even without sin all people of this world experience death.
For us, Christ rose from the dead so that not even death can take hold of us. Not even death can take us out of God’s loving hand. Not even death can stop us from worshiping the God who first loved us, though we were undeserving.
Now, because of what Christ has done for us, we no longer need to be ashamed of our sins, for they are forgiven. Now we need not fall into the trap of temptation, for in Christ we have victory over the tempter. Now, not even death can silence our praise, for in Christ, we are given the gift of eternal life.
Because of this knowledge, I am excited. So excited that I can’t keep it to my self.
All I want to do is share my excitement with others. With those who already know what I know, I receive great joy from together praising the God who first loved us, though we were undeserving. With those who do not yet know this wonderful news, I receive great joy from sharing why I am excited, hoping that God will open their hearts to his love so that they, too, may share my excitement of this great news.
Because of this knowledge, I am excited. So excited that it is my prayer that my excitement overflows into everything I do. Whether I am praying, or teaching, or resting, I pray that the God who loves me is a part of it, and I may bring glory to Him through my excitement of this great news.
I am very fortunate then that God has set no limits on how much I may praise him. Not only does He not hinder me from praising Him, but also he encourages me to pray continuously. Not only does he encourage me to pray continuously, but also He has smashed everything that might stand in the way of bringing glory to His name. Temptation, sin, even death no longer stand between me and my Lord.