“To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.” Romans 5:13
Katie asked me, “Can I plug in my Kindle, it’s only at 3%?” It was 10:15pm and we were preparing for bed. The sentence wasn’t new and, in fact, it’s a regular occurrence at my house. She has a Kindle, a phone and a watch that need charged regularly. The problem is, regularly ain’t regular. Liking to lay in bed and read before she goes to sleep, she was only going to get about 2% more at best.
The charger she uses for her Kindle just so happens to be the same kind I use for my phone. Often she can’t find where she left hers. Her request meant unplugging my phone in order to use MY charger to charger HER KINDLE. Which is not a big deal because, what’s mine is hers and what’s hers is mine! But the lack of charging thing she doesn’t regularly do affects me as well.
I am NOT publicly calling out my wonderful wife. Comparing the list of MY failures, weaknesses and bad propensities overshadows hers like an eclipse! I actually drive HER even MORE crazy with the STUFF I leave lying around. I asked her, “why don’t you keep your stuff charged? All you have to do is plug it in and you won’t be scrambling around all the time?” Then I looked at the counter!
Today’s verse is NOT a ‘little thang!’ Jesus knew that taking care of the penalty of my sin was going to be inconvenient. The BIG problem was not so much the offense… as it was in ‘The Law’ itself! ‘The Law’ not only set the tone for right and wrong, it established the penalty for being broken and DEMANDED PAYMENT. To do a proper job, Jesus had to do something with ‘The Law!’ And He did!
The 10 commandments are not all of them. Actually, there are 613 laws in the Old Testament! And we break them regularly! To do the ‘Work of Salvation,’ Jesus had to pay the penalty for my sin AND get the Law out of the way, which could nail me again later. He did that by nailing the Law to His cross as well as my sin! ‘Taking it out of the way!’ (See Colossians 2:14).
That fact of the Law’s death is something I fail to plug into often. Since I have been Born Again and Christ lives inside of me, I CANNOT be charged with sin any longer. My life is His, His life is mine, and The Law that COULD have separated us has been REMOVED and LOST! Kind of like my wife’s chargers! Now, I have the means to plug in to Christ as STAY Charged… If I so choose!
Staying ‘Charged’ is a ‘Charge’ Jesus gives to me. He WANTS me plugged into Him, at 100%, ALL THE TIME! His Charger is the Word… The Bible. And when I spend time reading, resting and meditating on His Word, He fills me. Just like He can fill you. So… when it comes to Jesus, at what percent are YOU? Oh.. And please don’t tell my wife about this ok?
