God Himself Has Made Up for It

When you have to tell someone a very sad thing, you must prepare him for the shock, but when you have something really good to tell, there is no need for that. Therefore I am starting at once, for I have a splendid thing to tell you about.

It is this: God Himself has made up for it! That is the glad message of the Bible. It is tremendous, that everything which went wrong by the sin of man, God has made up for it!

In the cloakroom of a restaurant you undoubtedly have seen a warning. "The management takes no responsibility for the theft of clothes." They feel that they cannot take that upon themselves. Some situations occur in life, so you can only say, "I am not responsible for it." But can we say that also to God? "Lord God, I am not responsible for it." At our home we once had a guest who broke a knife, and she insisted on having it repaired. We saw no need for that, but she insisted and had it done. When these things happen you accept responsibility and pay for what you have broken. But can we say that to God?- "I will make up for it myself." There are people who say that.

There are also people who say: "I do not wish to be responsible to God. I feel that I am not obliged whatsoever, to put things in order with God. I have nothing to do with God." But CAN we say that to God? Can we say, "If there are things in my life that You do not agree with, I don't mind, for I'm not responsible?"

Or can we say, "I will arrange it myself. I am responsible for it, and therefore I will not let another suffer for it. If I do wrong things, I will put them right again myself before You." But can we say that to God?

However, there are situations in life that cannot be resolved in these ways. You may have offended a fellow man so deeply or hurt him so much, that you cannot correct the matter so easily. You may have caused so much grief that you broke up the way to his heart completely. You may have hurt or wounded someone so much that there is only one possibility to restore your fellowship. That is if the other one comes to you to make reconciliation.

This is the joyous message of the Bible! God Himself came to make up for our sin. The way to God had been broken by man. By sin, the gap between God and men had become so wide that no effort by man could bridge it over. So God did it Himself, for all people - for those who think they are not responsible, and for those who think they can arrange things with GOD themselves.

For all these people, God gave His Son. The Son of God became man, in order that Heaven and Earth could be united again, in order to reconcile God and man. Jesus Christ has given Himself to be the bridge, to be the guarantee for our debt to GOD. That which we could not do, He has done for us. He has put things right for us with God. Christ is God's hand, reaching out to us. Lay hold of that hand. It is our only possibility, for we ARE responsible indeed; we are guilty before God. Lay hold of that outstretched hand, for we cannot put things right with God ourselves. Our strength is too small, our goodness is too stained. Lay hold of God's hand. Believe in Jesus. In the Word of God He approaches us. Read the Bible, and you will see how God has made up for our sin, Himself. Tell Him that you believe He did this for YOU, and your guilt will be all wiped away.