Not Another Feel Good Blog

I'm currently reading "Living the Cross Centered Life" by C.J. Mahaney and if you've never read it, it's a must read. Tonight I was reminded of an inconvenient truth. The Cross of Christ would have been unnecessary if it wasn't for me (and every person who has ever lived). It's convenient to think that Christ died on the cross for our sins. But it's less convenient to think that Christ died on the cross BECAUSE of our sins. Our wickedness required His righteousness. He had to die on the cross, because our hearts are wicked. Let that sink in. I've had to let it sink in. My. Heart. Is. Wicked. Even if you think that you aren't as bad as the worst, your heart is wicked. The reason that we find ourselves messing up every day is because of our wickedness. There's nothing that we can do to control it either. Isn't that the worst news ever? At my very core I am evil. I am evil at my very core. It feels terrible to say that. But it also feels good to say that. When we acknowledge this truth, it makes Christ's death real for us. We realize that at our core we are so wicked that even at our best, we, on our own, are filthy rags. That is sick. We are so sick. Is it any wonder with all of this wicked, sickness that men do the things they do? Is it any wonder that men would kill one another, use one another, steal from one another, etc.? It isn't to me. We are messed up and when we realized how messed up we are, we understand how perfect Christ was. If we don't realize how messed up we are, we have misunderstood the Gospel. Christ had to die for our sins. It's my fault. It's your fault. And the worst part of it all is that even when Christ says, "Don't do this, because in my eyes it's sin.", we find a way to say, "Well, that's not fair.". We reinterpret the truth in order to make it convenient for ourselves. How ridiculous. The fact of the matter is that the only convenient truth in the world is that we are sick, wicked, evil people for whom the Holy Christ died.

(By the way, I did intentionally focus in on our evilness. It's the truth and far too often instead of focusing on the truth of the Gospel, the truth of our evilness, people just want to tell us how to have our "Best Life Now". Our best life now is only found in realizing our depravity and accepting the free gift of Christ. Then, once we have fully understood and accepted, our best life will come by honoring Him in our hearts and minds which will be shown through our actions. Your best life has nothing to do with money and happiness. It is all about sanctification and progressive righteousness. May we not forget this messed up fallen nature to which we are so often held captive.)