I had great bitterness; but you have lovingly delivered my soul. … You have cast all my sins behind your back. … The living man, he shall praise you, as I do this day. … The LORD was ready to save me.
Isaiah 38:17-20.
Yesterday’s meditation on the lame man who was cured (Acts 3:1-11) speaks to each one of us. By various illustrations God shows us our condition inasmuch as we are far from him: morally we resemble invalids crying out in despair, when they recognize: “I have no-one who can cure me and save me. Elsewhere we find an incurable leper (Luke 5:12), or someone severely injured (Luke 10:30) depicting ourselves. Scripture reminds us that we are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). People pass close by us without giving us anything. In fact they themselves have nothing useful or worthwhile to give.
Up in the heights of heaven, however, there is One who saw our wretched state and came down to save us. To achieve such deliverance or such a cure, a word spoken as by Peter, or remedies as administered by the good Samaritan were insufficient. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ was necessary. This was God’s requirement: “Without shedding of blood there is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). The blood of bulls and goats offered as sacrifices in the Old Testament could not put away sin. The precious blood of Christ was necessary (cf. 1 Peter 1:19). Now that Jesus Christ has died, been resurrected and set on high in heaven, salvation is offered to all who believe in Him. Have you accepted it?
Image: By Raphael – Web Gallery of Art: Image Info about artwork, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1718116