My Son Died for You?
Romans 8:31-39
Many have heard that Jesus died for their sins. Many have heard that they should come to the saving knowledge of Jesus.
Today I’m not going to tell you anything different. What I want to do is to bring it into perspective for you.
I want to tell you the story of a young man. It is the story of a West Point graduate who is sent to Iraq. He takes his men into combat. He did a very good job in keeping his men alive. Until one night they were surprised by insurgents. All of the young Lt’s men were able to get to cover except one. The one soldier lay wounded. The Lt. and his men could hear his agonized cries. They all wanted to go out and get him and bring him to safety. However, there was one problem, leaving cover meant enemy fire was sure to follow.
Finally the young Lt. could stand it no longer and he himself went out into the deadly area. He got to the wounded soldier and managed to drag him back to safety. Just as the Lt. was pushing the young man behind cover he was fired upon and hit. He was killed instantly.
Time passed and the wounded soldier recuperated and went back to the states. The parents of the Lt. learned of this and wanted to meet the young man their son gave his life for. They invited him over for dinner one evening.
Finally the big night arrived. Their guest arrived, drunk. He was loud and obnoxious. He told bad jokes, was rude and showed no concern for his hosts. The parents of the brave Lt. did their best to salvage the evening and make it worthwhile. Finally the night ended and their obscene guest left.
As her husband closed the door the mother collapsed into a heap of tears and cried, “To think our son had to die for somebody like that.”
Before we jump on the bandwagon and begin to criticize that young man for his behavior, shouldn’t we consider just how much we have in common with him.
Jesus died for you and me. But we go on sinning. Jesus paid a great price to give us eternal life. Yet we continue to behave obscenely. We owe Him something far better, and we don’t deliver. We fail to reflect upon the cost of our salvation. If we took into consideration, the price things would be greatly different. God’s suffering did not end on Calvary. The sins we commit here and now bring Him pain here and now. In a similar fashion could God be watching us and ask “My Son died for you?”
You and I have been injured and have been lying helpless, moving closer to death. But someone has come to pull us away from danger and into safety. For His efforts, though, He was killed. He was beaten. He was mocked. He was crucified. He was buried. You and I are we sorry? Does this cause us sorrow, that our life should cause someone else’s death? Yes, it should.
Today the Father invites us to his meal. He wants to know who it is that his Son died for. How will you come? How will I come? Drunk? Cursing? Foul? Hateful? You can come in those ways.
But don’t let that be the way you come. Instead let us come like one who is grateful for life. Let us come as one who reflects upon the cost of salvation. Let us come as one who rejoices with the Father for the love of the Father.
“What, then shall we say in response to this?. . . He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? . . . For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
