Contemplative Bible Reading

Galatians 1:4 (New Living Translation)

4 Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.

I hate to mention it, but we live in an evil world. Evil is everywhere. You don’t have to look far or long to see it. Woe is us. Nope. We have been rescued from this evil world. God the Father planned and executed the plan for the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins.

Let’s consider two points from this (there are many, many more we could consider, but those will have to wait for another day or year).

Point one: Let’s not skip over the words, “for our sins.” Our sins contribute to the evil in this evil world. Let’s be honest about that one. Uh, no wait, must be a problem in translation. Nope. I am a big contributor to this evil world. My sins—not just the sins of that other fella sitting across the coffee shop.

Point two: We are rescued from all this. Jesus’ death on the cross was not just for dramatic affect. It was a sacrifice of rescue. It worked. We are lifted out of the evil mire of this place.

God, never let me forget my part in the evil of this place. Never let me forget the rescue. Thank you, God.