“But He was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds. We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord punished Him for the iniquity of us all.”
Isaiah 53:5-6
My devotional prompt today asks, “How does today’s new testament reading invite you to live differently in response to the freedom from fear and sin that Jesus has secured for you?”
And my answer is that Jesus bore our sin. He turned the sin that was on our shoulders into something that would no longer hold us back from a relationship with God. It no longer created a divide between us and our creator. Through Him we are made righteous.
I have a tendency to read and not think critically while I’m reading. So, I’ll be going through the pages reading over words I don’t know how to pronounce or references I don’t understand, and I’ll just keep going. I won’t stop to look anything up. I won’t reread a section if I don’t understand it. I’ll just keep plowing through.
The verse that I included is a verse I’ve heard many times before. It’s a verse I can almost recite. He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed by our iniquities. I might not be spot on, but I’m close. I have the important words down. I know those and I have said those many times before, but I actually don’t know what iniquity means.
So, I looked it up.
Iniquity. Immoral or grossly unfair behavior.
He died because of our immoral and grossly unfair behavior. He sacrificed Himself because of what we did. Because we are absolutely terrible. We’re immoral and grossly unfair.
But now because of Him, that immoral and grossly unfair behavior doesn’t have to hold us back. It doesn’t have to define us or ruin us in the eyes of God.
So, I guess that’s how we’re free.
Free to not be afraid of ever being separated from the one who loves us so immensely and unconditionally. Free to know that we’ll make mistakes, but these mistakes won’t be the end of us. Free to know that we are forgiven and we can make things right again. Free to maybe even keep moving forward.
All because of Jesus.