A New Day

By: Pastor Johnie Akers  

  John 1:29, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’” The story is told of Jerome, an early church father, who had a dream one night in which Jesus visited him. In the dream, Jerome collected all his money and offered it to Jesus as a gift. Jesus said, “I don’t want your money.” So, Jerome rounded up all his possessions and tried to give them to Jesus. Jesus responded, “I don’t want your possessions.” Jerome then turned to Christ and asked, “What can I give you? What do you want?” Jesus simply replied, “Give me your sins. That’s what I came for; I came to take away your sins.” Pastor Pat Sage has said that no other religious leader would ever make such a request. Everyone else wants the best of what we have to offer. Yet Jesus asks for the worst. Others may initially ask for our time, our money, our devotion, or any other valuable commodity. Yet the Christian faith is unique. The reason is that Christianity is not merely a religion—it is a relationship. The first action required on our part is to give God the worst we have and the worst we are. In return, He gives us His best. In our Scripture lesson today, John the Baptist sees Jesus coming to him, as he baptizes in the Jordan River. He then makes a revolutionary statement: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” While others want to memorialize your sin; never allow you to forget your sin; excise penance; blackmail and extort you over past failures; the Lord says, “Give me your sin, and I will take it away.” So today, give the Lord your worst. Give Him all of your failures; all of your mistakes; all of your sins of commission and your sins of omission (things you’ve done wrong and things you’ve failed to do). In return, He will give you grace, mercy, pardon, peace, forgiveness, and eternal life. Give God your worst, and He will give you His best. May that great exchange occur now, with the advent of this new day.

Source: Nelson’s Annual Preacher’s Sourcebook, 2004 edition.