Dear God, I need help. I have no where else to turn. I’m in too far. It hurts too much. From out there, sin looked entertaining. From up there, sin looked free. From in here, though, sin hurts. From down here — from the depths of pain and sorrow — sin controls.

Preachers preach around it, writers forget to write about it, teachers refuse to teach it — none of which excuses it. And we sit idly by as the world topples one more moral pillar in its march toward godlessness.

Sin entices, appeases, entangles, then suffocates. It grabs you, holds you, and won’t let go. What looked so easy, so painless, and so free before now seems so hard, so painful, so very expensive.

Have we forgotten our Bibles? God, have we ignored your sacrifice? When we trim the Christmas tree and paint the Easter egg, do we ever stop and consider that the Jesus we flippantly celebrate died because of our sin? Is He really the reason for these seasons, or just another ornament to go with the mistletoe, chocolate eggs, and candy corn?

Death of a Son

Modern scientists search for answers to today’s problems, hoping against hope to heal our pain and ease our worries. So far, though, cancer still attacks, AIDS still ravages, death still approaches. We seemingly cannot stop the onslaught of these tragic attackers, yet the ultimate malady of human history was cured two thousand years ago on a simple wooden cross between two thieves.

Imagine for a moment: God killing His own son. Really, stop and think about that. Amazingly, mercifully, the Cross provided the antidote for my disease, the balm for my pain, the security for my eternity. Wow . . . that is grace.

Yet here I sit, regretting my past and reliving my guilt. What seeks to control me, what seeks to separate me from You, God, cannot — if I release myself to Jesus. Why did Jesus come? Oh yeah: “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10, NKJV). Then why am I still so sinful, though I claim to serve You who are sinless?

The answer

So, God, what is the answer? What will solve the problem of sin and death? While the media has tried toleration, teachers have used education, and preachers have promoted inspiration, the only lasting answer to my sin problem is salvation. Holy God, help me neglect this world and embrace Your grace. Make me vigilant in my determined neglect; make me live a life that is holy before You.

As the Bible reminds us, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins” (James 4:17, NIV). God, maybe I should have helped that person at work who needed my aid to finish her project. Maybe I should have stopped for the guy with the flat tire. Maybe I should call that relative and say, “I’m sorry.” Open my eyes, God, and show me what is right and what is wrong. Make me dependent on You, the God who promises to “[guide] me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3, NKJV).

God, never let me forget that as much as my sin hurts me, it hurts You infinitely more. Also remind me that as deep as my sin takes me, no matter how low I feel, Your loving arms are long enough to reach down and bring me home. Thank You, God, that Your sinlessness wipes away my sinfulness, if only I will let You control my life. Keep me near You.

Write it on my heart, God; engrave it on my forehead and carve it into my tombstone: “A sinner, saved by grace.”