You Have the Right
Jun 29, 2020 2655
Life can be seen as a journey in search of value and worth. We commonly measure worth in terms of money or material possessions. We judge people based on the house they live in or the car they drive.
You have the right to become a child of God.
Other people measure a person’s worth on their physical appearance, and so life is a quest to look better on the outside. For many, life is a search for value in these external and material things.
But somehow, all of these things always frustrating us, because deep down, whether we believe in God or not, we know that they are ultimately worthless.
That’s why, for many, it’s tempting to go through life thinking that they are unworthy. That is basically true in your humanity, apart from God. At the same time, it’s also false in Christ.
We see both approaches to God in the Bible. For example, Peter approaches Jesus and he falls at Jesus’ knees and exclaims,
Go away from me Lord; I am a sinful man! (Luke 5:8).
On the other hand we see this magnificent promise:
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12 NIV).
Did you notice that? If you have received Jesus, you have the right to become a child of God.
Both are true simultaneously, but from different perspectives. Yes, we are unworthy because we are sinful. That’s true from our human perspective, without God. And yes, we are worthy and have the right to be God’s child. That’s true from God’s perspective, through Christ.
If both are true, which is the more true? The latter truth trumps the former truth, because whatever God says is above all. It is ultimate truth. And if God says that you have the right to be his child, then that’s what matters most.
Because of Jesus, you have the right to be a son or daughter of God.
As we travel through this world, we are always to have an awareness of our unworthiness within ourselves. This will remind us of our need of Christ. And at the same time, we are always to have an awareness of our eternal worth in Jesus.
Knowing that, what makes all the difference is the reality you choose to live in.
The reality is that this a person’s sense of worth impacts the way they live whether a person is a believer in Christ or not. Many people who are not believers feel a deep sense of unworthiness. Often they will mask this by a lot of behaviours that are harmful to others, and ultimately to themselves.
Then there are believers in God who haven’t understood or accepted God’s verdict of their worth and acceptance in Christ. They are often frustrated in their Christianity, and they can focus on legalism and perfectionism.
And then there are those people who acknowledge their own unworthiness in themselves, but who accept that Christ has demonstrated the everlasting worth that he has given them, through the shedding of his blood. I hope you’re one of them.
Donald Brown
Jul 6, 2020
Jesus loves us no matter how sinful we are. He offers his love and forgiveness to us as well as his righteousness. He did what we couldn't do, and that was to live a perfect life here on the Earth. It was through that perfect life, death and resurrection that we have the offer of salvation because he shed his blood on the cross for our sins. The mere fact that God took on humanity that is; put on flesh and became a man shows us his great love. God was fully man and fully God at the very same time. He gave of himself so that we might be saved and become participants in his kingdom.
William Armour
Jul 12, 2020
Jesus has given mankind a way to live without a guilty conscience and fear of not making it to heaven. If Christ sets you free, you are free in deed.’ The freedom we have in this life through Jesus Christ, who laid down His life so that we may have a more abundant life, is more than you know it is.