During this Holy Week, we are reminded of the great lengths and depths God went to make our salvation from sin, self, Satan, and death possible. For those who give their lives to God by faith and repentance of sin, “there is no condemnation” (Romans 8:1). They are in Christ, joined together in relationship to Him and thereby fully acquitted of all sin. Furthermore, those who are in Christ have been saved into eternal life. As our Savior prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, He said to our Heavenly Father, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). Salvation is more than an escape from the eternal torment of hell (which we all naturally deserve); salvation is eternal fellowship with the living God (which is an astounding gift of amazing grace). Jesus goes on to pray for all those who believe in Him through His Word, “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, … so that the world may believe that you have sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (John 17:20-23). In remembrance of Christ’s finished work on the cross, let us “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave [us]. Therefore, be imitators of God (in His character and conduct), as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 4:32-5:1).
