Oh praise the One Who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead!

My grandfather passed away two years ago this month, April 18th to be exact. He is the closest loved one of mine that has passed away in my lifetime. I am daily reminded of him, but of course I am more reminiscent, nostalgic and emotional on the 18th.  If you’ve lost a loved one, you know this feeling. I am amazed and humbled by the providence of God and how He cared for my grandfather and grandmother even to the point of his death and continues to care for my grandmother. Pop Pop was able to peacefully leave this earth in the comfort of his home with his loving wife by his side. His death helps me truly grasp Easter.  When he died, the relatives and friends he left behind didn’t benefit from his death save wonderful memories and the promise of joining him again in Heaven. However, when Christ died, we gained everything and the promise of the death of the Savior is so much greater. Christ didn’t die of old age and he didn’t die from a physical disease. He died at a mere 33 years for one purpose only, to glorify the Father in doing His will. His will was to allow His only Son to die and bear the sins of many people. I’m sure he left some memories to his mother, the disciples, and others that knew him well. But that is not the point. He left behind the blood that has the power to save me. He, who had NO sin, was PERFECT in every way despite every temptation, took on ALL my sin–past, present, and future–so that I may take on his righteousness, so that God can look at me and see perfection in me because of His Son. I have to look at Easter as the death of me, the death of the sin inside my filthy heart. Yes, I will still sin because I have not attained perfection and won’t until the day I see My Father face to face. However, the day Christ died for my sins was the day sin lost its dominion over me. I no longer live, but Christ lives in me and gives me the power to flee from sin. I have died, I died thousands of years ago on a hill far away, and I no longer live, but it is Christ that lives in me and I live that life by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. There is NOTHING I did to deserve or gain my salvation and there is NOTHING I can do to lose my salvation. I am sealed by the blood of the Lamb. He took on the pain…the pain that I cannot imagine bearing…and I got to take on his righteousness. Fair trade? By no means. But it wasn’t about being fair, it wasn’t about him or me at all, it was about completing the will of His Father. It was about one sacrifice that saved many from the punishment of their sins. Praise be to God that he chose me! Praise be to God that He called my name and drew my heart near! Praise be to God that my name is engraved on His nail scarred hands!