He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.

Psalm 103:12

Imagine entering a large room filled with stacks of cardboard boxes. Inside each one are your sins - every inappropriate thought, every selfish act, each prideful, arrogant, greedy, and lustful moment in your life poured into boxes with labels, dates, and detailed descriptions of every. single. one. Some boxes contain the scripts of countless conversations, spoken and written, spit out or texted in anger. They fill too many of the boxes to count.

In walks Jesus. He meets you right in the middle of that room, in the middle of your sin. He smiles at you, but you lower your eyes in shame. So He lifts your chin, and he says with quiet urgency, “Open them.” You can’t bring yourself to do it, to relive all those moments the enemy won, when his was the voice you obeyed. But again Jesus encourages, “Open them.” So you grab a small one, pop open the top, and peek inside. The box is empty! You grab another one, and another, and another…all empty! You look at Jesus, who is smiling with the “I told you so” look on His radiant face. And He says lovingly, “They’re all gone. I carried them to the cross. I paid the price. You are forgiven and free.” 

THAT is the power of the cross! That ugly, heavy cross held the body of your King with nails that Friday, His arms stretched from “east to west”, paying the debt you could never pay. After a soldier pierced His side, He was laid in a dark, new tomb. But on Sunday, He rose from death to life, confirming who He was and His purpose. He is God in flesh, and He came to die for you, to show you how to love others, to conquer death, to fulfill the prophecy only He could fulfill. He came for YOU! And the tomb? Well, that was just as empty as every one of your boxes. That is freedom! That is hope! And THAT is why, your life is no longer about you - it’s about HIM! Go tell everyone! You are loved!