“God made [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Devotion based on 2 Corinthians 5:21

“It’s not fair!” How many times have we said or thought those words? When we were younger and saw a brother or sister get something that we couldn’t have, we said it. When a co-worker receives a special honor, we think it. As has been so clearly pointed out—life’s not fair.

There is one place where we are so grateful that we didn’t get what we deserved. The apostle Paul says in our Bible verse today, “God made [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” We have all disobeyed God. From the angry word that escapes our lips to the lustful thought that runs through our minds to the laziness we have all exhibited, we have sinned. God is very clear about how he feels about sin. He cannot stand it. He hates it and has promised to punish all who do it. There is no escaping this fact. Paul also wrote, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Here, however, the great love of our God has been shown. As Paul reminds us, God made Jesus, who had no sin of his own, to be the very embodiment of sin. All our sins, indeed the sins of the entire world, were heaped upon Jesus. Because our God is a just God who demands that sin be paid for, yet is also a loving God, he punished Jesus in our place. All of God’s anger against our sin was poured out on Jesus when he suffered and died on the cross. He was punished in our place.

Our sense of justice stands up here. It wasn’t fair to punish Jesus. He did nothing wrong. Yet, if God had not intervened, we would be lost forever. In our eyes, it may not have been fair. Yet, it is also the greatest act of love that the world has ever seen. When we hear of this great love for us, we want to thank God for our entire lives.

Prayer:

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