wow. for me? wow. thank you.

“And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him”

https://bible.com/bible/59/col.1.21-22.ESV

Wow. You did this for me, Jesus? You went willingly to the cross, for a rebellious sinner who was hostile to God, who did do evil deeds, who lived as though anything goes and had absolutely no concept of God being in charge of the world —

and you did it to reconcile me to God! and to present me – me, one of the worst sinners ever – holy and blameless before your Father, who is now also my own Father because of what you did for me.

you died and rose from the dead, and through your death and resurrection you brought me life! eternal life. wonderful life. life as God’s adopted child, loved unconditionally, undeservedly, forever. and you will, through no merit of my own, present me holy and blameless before him – not because I’ll have somehow done enough good… but because you did. you lived the perfect, holy, sinless life that I couldn’t, and by an amazing exchange you took on my sins and gave me your righteousness!

I, who used to live as though life was a commandment-breaking contest, who felt proud in my rebelliousness, who thought I didn’t need God and who looked down on religious people…

thank you for your amazing, shocking, mind-boggling love. for reaching down to me despite everything and rescuing me even though I didn’t know I needed rescuing.

you are amazing, and I will love you forever. because you first loved me.