Blessed Are the Messy

day four

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 3:23

Is that comma instead of a period bothering anyone else? This verse seems to get shoved at us from all directions, but usually we don't talk about the context it's in. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God PERIOD" is what it sounds like it means out of context, but it's really "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God COMMA AND all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." The fact that we all sin is not the end of the story. 

Another interesting part of this passage is it says comma AND, not comma BUT. If we had justified ourselves through our own merit, it would be "we sin, BUT we've made up for it." If we deserved the redemption, that's what it would say. But since nothing we ever did or will do earned the redemption that came by Christ Jesus, it's just the next part of the story. It's not a bargain deal, it's a promise. We sin, AND Jesus became the sacrifice in place of us. We don't have to make up for it- that was done for us on the cross. 

Nothing we could ever do is deserving of that grace and redemption, and honestly, most of what we do isn't deserving at all. Yet we are all justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Not because of anything we did, but because of what He did. 

Our very lives represent His sacrifice for us, even though we didn't deserve it. It's so easy to get weighed down knowing that we don't deserve all of the grace we are given, but just look at it as a reminder of how much God loves us. It's right there in John 3:16: "For God so loved the world." Not because the world deserves love and grace, but because in His righteousness, He loves us unconditionally. Claim that love and grace today, share it, make it known- and instead of dwelling on how undeserving all of us are, praise God that He is faithful and loving in spite of our sins.