“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?” - Psalm 22:1 “My life is a living hell.” Maybe you have heard people use that phrase when the events of life had pushed them to the brink of despair. Maybe you have even said it yourself during those times when nothing seemed to be going right, when all seemed to be lost, when there seemed to be no end in sight to your troubles. It certainly is a serious claim, but ultimately it’s not true. The Bible defines hell as a state of being separated from all of God’s love and blessings. And so, even during the toughest times of life, we have not experienced hell because we still experience so many of God’s blessings every day: food and drink, clothing and shoes, house and home, life and breath, good weather, good health, the blessings of relationships, and countless others. The truth is, there has been only one human being in history who could truly say that his life was a living hell. And it was the only human being in history who actually did not deserve to experience it: Jesus Christ. Jesus himself quoted the words of the psalm before us today while he was suffering on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Jesus didn’t just say those words because the pain of crucifixion and the mocking of his enemies had become too much to bear. He said them because he was actually experiencing separation from all of God’s love and blessings. On the cross, Jesus was experiencing hell. But why? Why was the Son of God himself being forsaken by God on the cross? The answer lies in God’s perfect justice towards sin and in his boundless love and grace towards sinners. For on that cross, Jesus was serving as our substitute. He was suffering the punishment that you and I deserved for our sins – not just the punishment of physical death but the ultimate punishment that our sins deserved, the punishment of hell. He suffered it so that you and I would never have to. Because of Christ’s work on our behalf, our lives will never be “a living hell.” What’s more, we will not experience hell after death, either. Rather, we will live in God’s holy presence, experiencing all of his love and his blessings forever. Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, you suffered the pain of hell so that I would never have to. Lead me to grasp the depth of what that means today as I seek to live for you who died for me. Amen. This message has been brought to you by Prince of Peace SLC, Palos Evangelical Lutheran Church, the WELS (Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod), and WhatAboutJesus
Posted on: Mon, 01 Jul 2013 21:46:27 +0000
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