“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ” Romans 3:23
Paul is writing to the Christians in Rome in this letter. He is talking about a universal condition of our hearts. We are all born into sin due to the actions of the first set of parents. With their manipulation and acts of willful deception, we were given the consequence of being separated from God.
Paul is writing in the previous verse that it didn’t matter who they were, Jew or Gentile, they all had the same condition, a sinful nature. It can be said now that it doesn’t matter who you are, Catholic, Baptist, Salvationist, Lutheran, American, European, African, Caucasian, Asian, able to do all physical things or need assistance with everything, we ALL are born with a sinful nature. Nothing has changed on our part, in that we miss the mark of favor and approval of God. We are all sinners. This is where we all start.
Sounds pretty hopeless, right, but it is not. We do not have to stay in the position of separation from God. We have been thrown a lifeline, a lifebuoy, a rope onto which we can grab and be brought to safety. There is no condition that you can possess that eliminates you from this lifeline and there is nothing you can do to earn the right to be thrown this lifeline.
Just as you can not earn the right to this lifeline, you do need to perform an action to use the lifeline, you have to accept it, receive it, grab onto it. Paul states in the next verse that God chose to show us all grace. That Christ Jesus redeemed us, freely justified us when He allowed the people of that time to crucify Him on the cross. He paid the final price, the last payment was made for our sins and now at the end of our life here on earth, we are able to be with God in heaven for eternity.
We are ALL the same, we are ALL sinners and ALL have fallen short of any favor from God, but we ALL are able to receive the grace that God is offering through Jesus. Whether we receive it or not is completely up to us.
Have you received it?
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending your Son to pay for our sins. Thank You for giving us a way to be close to You. I pray that if there is anyone reading this post who has not taken ahold of the lifeline You have thrown, I pray that they will grab it right now. That they will understand that even though we have been born with a sinful nature, we don’t have to live by that nature and we can live a new life renewed by You. I pray Your words here speak to whoever You want them to speak to and draw near to You those who are far away. I pray this all in Your Son’s most precious name, Amen.