"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do," (Luke 23:34).
Forgive them? Did he really just say that? Jesus was in the process of being wrongly executed for our sins and he prays to the Father to forgive us???
In Revelation 13:8 it says that the lamb (Jesus) was slain before the creation of the world. Jesus left his throne in heaven for this very reason, this moment, becoming a man born of the Virgin Mary to pay for our sins once and for all, with his motivation being his great Love for Man.
The Bible tells us in the book of Romans, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus and that God demonstrates his own love for us in this; while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
I still remember the first time that I truly felt the forgiveness of God and how it went into the core of my very being, breaking off how unworthy I felt to deserve his undying love. He showed me that he never stopped loving me even in the midst of my sin, because he died for this this very reason, this moment, to reconcile me back to God.
I have received this amazing grace, and all I can think about is how so many lost people throughout the world have never even heard of Jesus, the King who forgives, the King who sets captives free, the King who humbled himself came to serve and not to be served, and most of all the King who SAVES. I go because God has called us to go and make disciples of all the Nations, I go to become more like this King who doesn't call for blood but for forgiveness, I go to share his great love and mercy with everyone that God puts in my path!
We all have our part in this greater story, we all have different callings, and my question for you is this, if Jesus calls you to make a difference around the world or in your community today, will you be found?
