Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. (Romans 8:34, NIV)
Surely in driving around town you’ve come up behind one of those “I’d rather be playing golf” license plate frames. The devoted golfer’s proper response to this sentiment is, “Well, duh.”
But maybe you’re more casual than that about the game, and you have a wide range of interests. In this case, you may think, Actually, on a day like this, I’d rather be fishing, or, Golf would be nice, but I’d miss dinner with my spouse and friends, which is going to be amazing!
Whichever response is true for you, you’re looking for a different present. What you’re doing right now isn’t as good as what you could be doing somewhere else.
How much thought, I wonder, do we give to the present life of Christ, our Savior?
Generally, we think of Jesus in the past, because in the Gospel accounts, we read of him in the past. As Paul’s words to the Romans remind us, Christ died and Christ was raised. These were the pivotal actions of Jesus when it comes to our salvation. We cling to them with all our hope for eternal life.
Jesus intercedes between us, the certainly guilty party, and the Father, who is the absolutely innocent and holy party.But Jesus did not ascend into a quiet retirement, playing nine holes in the cool of the late afternoon and sitting on the clubhouse deck with a lemonade in hand. No, Jesus is at work, and his work is intercession.
What is this? It is the “going between,” the mediation between two parties. In our societal context, we may think of a mediator who resolves a difference between two entities that have relatively equal gripes or claims. But in the case of Jesus, he intercedes between us, the certainly guilty party, and the Father, who is the absolutely innocent and holy party.
Why is this necessary? Wasn’t the work of atoning salvation completed at the cross? Indeed it was. Yet we go on sinning, because we are so accustomed to looking out for ourselves. So Jesus invokes the cry of Habakkuk on our behalf: “Remember mercy!” And the Father looks on Jesus and does so, just as he will for eternity. We should be so happy for what Jesus is doing now.
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Jeff Hopper
June 19, 2020
Copyright 2020 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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