But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:13, NIV)
Golfers may not be as superstitious as some other athletes, but every player has a favorite club. I’ve always told people that if I could travel with my putter and my driver, I’d make do with whatever else you give me when I get there. A recent trip changed my mind—it’s really a comfort to have your own wedges!
Of course, many would like to have their two-headed ball marker or yellow brush tee or comfortable shoes. Somewhere there is an acceptable connection between lucky charms and creature comforts.
But in the end, not having one of these familiar tokens along doesn’t prevent us from playing the game. Rental clubs or borrowed shoes, we can still move it from tee to hole and call it golf.
You cannot, more starkly, do the same with salvation; here there is one absolute necessity if you are to spend eternity with Jesus. That is the blood of Christ.
As odd as the Old Testament sacrificial directives may seem on the surface, they are about this: blood. Blood is the purifier, the cleanser, the bleach of God’s economy. It was his element of choice. “Without the shedding of blood,” the writer of Hebrews laid down, “there is no forgiveness (or remission)” (Hebrews 9:22). Long before the Old Testament Law, right after the sin of Adam and Eve, God shed the blood of animals in order to cover the nakedness of his beloved with skins, not leaves. Abel’s offering was acceptable because he shed the blood of his flock. This truly was God’s age-old plan.
The same demand of God was in effect when Jesus came. And it was the plan of God that Jesus would “once for all” offer the perfect, unblemished sacrifice that did not need to be repeated year after year. What was the purpose of this sacrifice? The purchase of your salvation. This is no hyped-up advertisement: The blood of Jesus – you can’t live without it! It is the one thing that brings you near to God and holds you there, for it is the one thing that cleanses your sin and makes you righteous in the eyes of the Lord.
—
Jeff Hopper
October 26, 2012
Copyright 2012 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.