While meditating on this devotional, I began to wonder what we would do if God did not attempt to reconcile us to Himself. Would we even try to get right with God? Would we even want to? Since sin entered the Garden of Eden, humanity has been in rebellion with God, ourselves, and everyone else. It seems that we would never turn to God on our own. We are not capable of changing our hearts. Without God, we don’t even realize we are stuck in the misery of sin.

Salvation is not a human initiative. God took the lead to reconcile us to Himself. He loves us so much that He sent His Son to save us; the innocent, seeking to save the guilty. To reconcile us, God took our sins and laid them on Jesus, who was sinless. 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

On the cross, the Son of God paid the sin debt we owe. When we accept Jesus and His sacrifice, God credits us with the righteousness of Christ so that no condemnation can be held against us. He sets us free. Only the finished work of Christ can justify us, causing the sinful creature that I was to pass away, making me a new creation in Christ. God did for us what we are incapable of doing for ourselves.