Last week someone told me that he was a rescue dog Christian. That phrase really stuck in my mind, because if you understand the gospel, you know that we are all rescue dog Christians.
Christians are sometimes criticized for being “holier-than-thou,” and too often, for good reason. The reality is that true followers of Jesus should be the last people to think they are holier than others. The Bible is clear that everyone sins and falls short of God’s glory. All of us.
We don’t have a relationship with God because we’re better than anyone else. It’s because we have realized our fallenness and have put our trust in Jesus for the forgiveness and new life we can’t earn and don’t deserve.
Next weekend, we celebrate Good Friday, when Jesus was crucified for us, and Easter, when he conquered death. The Apostle Paul uses Jesus’ death to show us both our need and God’s love for us: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly...But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6,8)
He died for us when we were powerless, ungodly and sinners, not when we cleaned up our act and got religious. So if you have avoided Jesus because you don’t feel you’re good enough, he loves you. He gave his life for you. He invites you into his family. We’re all rescue dog Christians.
You can reach Mike at [email protected].
