By Jaymi Firestone
Picture this…
Here you are, living a normal life, and a dangerous, evil villain sneaks in and grabs you, entangling you in a world of terror and turning you into a villain yourself…
But, wait!
Just as you see a glimpse of what this villainous life has in store for you, a daring hero swoops in and saves you!
How though?
By dying on a cross.
You see, the Gospel is the only story where the hero dies for the villain. Let that sink in for a second.
We always think about the hero coming in to save the day, but the hero is never harmed. The hero escapes with the victim, unscathed. It’s the tell tale of all good superhero stories right? They swoop in, save the day, and get cheers from the onlooking crowd.
Our salvation story is slightly different though.
Jesus was beaten, mocked, ridiculed, spit on, laughed at, and then was hung on a rough, splintering wooden cross, only to bleed and suffocate to death. No one cheered for Him as He took His last breath. They laughed at Him as He asked God to forgive them…
All for us…
“When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.”
Romans 5:12 NLT
Because of Adam’s choice, and Eve’s persuasion, we all are at fault. Sin entered the world in that moment, and we can’t escape its grip.
We are the villains in this story.
God created us for His glory, not our own, but our sin proves every day that our glory, our desires, overshadow God’s desire for us to be only focused on glorifying Him. We fall short, and thus become the villains in this story.
Had God not sent His Son to die, we would be just like Satan. Grace covers us though, and rather than making us the villain, we are made whole, blameless, and clean. We are no longer the villains.
“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.”
Romans 5:8-9 NLT
The Gospel tells the story of a hero dying for the villain. We aren’t the victims here, but rather the villains saved from the grip of the evil one.
Dying for us was the most Jesus could do. Living for Him is the least we can do.
Our lives are saved, for eternity, just because God loves us. We are so extremely undeserving, but Jesus died to save us anyway.
So, as you begin your weekend, remember the sacrifice that was made on your behalf, and live for Him. Nothing else should matter.
