Charles Stanley (April-15-2023) Daily Devotional: The Cosmic Dilemma
So that we could be reconciled to God the Father, He chose to sacrifice His Son.
John 3:14-21 - ``As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. ``For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. ``For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. ``He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ``This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. ``For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. ``But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."
Most people go through life unaware of the great cosmic dilemma—namely, how can a holy God be reconciled with sinful humanity? Nor do they give much thought to the solution that God Himself provided at Calvary: The cross was the place where both His love and His justice were on full display.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord, they exposed the entire human race to sin. Humanity’s condition stood in opposition to the perfectly righteous God who created them.
The Lord could have abandoned mankind to condemnation. But in love, He wanted to forgive sinful people and reconcile them to Himself—while remaining absolutely just. His solution was to provide a perfect sacrifice to atone for their sins. That meant a flawless substitute was needed to take the punishment sinners deserved. So God sent His Son into the world to bear mankind’s sin and appease His own justice.
The cross of Jesus represents the only answer to this cosmic problem. God was satisfied by Christ’s sacrifice so that in eternal love He could welcome redeemed mankind into His holy presence. Have you trusted Jesus as Savior and acknowledged the sacrifice He made on your behalf?
