Take seven minutes out of your day to watch this testimony from Chris Plekenpol and then read my commentary below.
What Chris Plekenpol said is so true. Jesus' love goes deeper than we could ever imagine. The apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, put it this way in Romans 5:6-8, "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." It's historical fact that Jesus died for the ungodly, which, by the way, means all of us. It's also a fact that very rarely wil anyone die for a righteous man. Righteous means a person of exceptional character. Good means someone who not only has exceptional character but is a person who is always looking out for other people's best interests. Very rarely will anyone die even for really, really good people...much less for enemies.
Ungodly sinners. That was what we were. Definitely not righteous. Definitely not good. Definitely not friends of God. But God loves us anyway, a love that is deeper than we could ever imagine. God demonstrated his love by sacrificing his Son for everyone...enemies included. Do you know what means for you? Are you ungodly? Nope. Forgiven! Sinner? Nope. Saved! No other god will do that for you. That's why Jesus is first in my life. Do you agree?
On this Fourth of July week as we celebrate our independence, thank God for our military, thank God for His love and thank God for His sacrifice for our forgiveness.
-Pastor Chris Johnson, Outreach and Young Adult Pastor
