He Is The Atoning Sacrifice

1 John 2:1-2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

         Communicating in a marriage, relationship, or friendship is an ongoing effort. Some experts will tell you to over communicate to prevent alienating. Others will tell you to not share too much. What I have learned is there is never enough communications in life. The important thing to remember is to communicate the whole message, and not just a sound bite of information.

         Have you ever been given only one side of a story by the media? Maybe you have found that in a friendship or relationship you were being given half the story. The disappointment can be pretty big. You may never know the reason for not having the whole story. We are just left disappointed. Now can you imagine how someone would feel if the message they were given regarding sin was they were not going to heaven. Despair would be one emotion that comes to mind.  I cannot imagine how bad that would feel. You may have a problem imagining how it feels if you have been a Christian most of your life. But there are people out there who have no idea that Jesus Christ was in fact the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Imagine how uplifting that news would be. Instead of the fear of an eternity in hell, hope would rest in the promise of eternity in heaven. The prisoner has been set free.

         We do not always here that whole message from our world today. We are given easily digestible sound bites that are crafted to send the message our world wants us to hear. Often that message is lacking in thoroughness and in some cases the truth. The truth can be inconvenient, especially when it does not support the message crafter’s agenda. The whole story of sin is that for the sinner there is hope. 1 John 2:1-2 fills us with that very hope. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. That is the whole message that needs to be loudly proclaimed to the whole world. Look at the message being sent out in our modern media. Is that message of hope being shared? If not, then ask why not? When we do not hold those who deliver the message accountable, we acquiesce to some other standard of truth. Speak out for the whole truth, and speak out in love.

PRAYER: Father, there are those in our world who have an agenda that is counter to sharing the Gospel. We know all to well the reason for this failing. Help us to speak out in love and insist that Your truth is told. Give us the wisdom to discern truth from half-truth. These things we ask in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.