By David ReayFriday 20 Mar 2015LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Read Romans 8:1-2
1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him,the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. (NLT)
Back in medieval times,the King of England would send his officials out into the country to ensure the laws were being kept. Any instances of law-breaking were recorded in books. These books were generally bound in black. Hence wrongdoers were in the black books.
One of the fundamental truths of the Christian message is that those who have put their trust in the goodness and mercy of Jesus are not in God’s black books. In contrast,our names are written in the book of life. Not because of our own good deeds but because of our reliance on Jesus’ perfect goodness.
It is true the Bible speaks of God keeping books which are records of the lives of people. But we are not to see him as some merciless ledger keeper who delights in finding fault. He does indeed know of the faults and failings of everyone. And outside the mercy of Jesus these faults and failings consign us to separation from God.
Yet God is rich in mercy: he longs for us to trust Jesus so as not to fall into that category. If we cling to Jesus,we are ‘clothed’ with his acceptability before God. Black books are not part of the landscape for a follower of Jesus.
Blessings
David Reay