Morning Devotionals

by Don Emmitte

 

February 13th, 2008

 

“An Ah-Ha Moment”

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:12-17 NLT).

Have you had very many of those “ah-ha” moments? You know the kind when all of a sudden you realize something that had been so difficult to understand before and now that you know it, it all seems so simple… those are the ah-ha moments. Today’s reading is one of those kinds of truths. It simply declares that we will be made right in God’s eyes through belief in Jesus Christ. On one hand, this sounds so simple. And it really is. However, we must ask the question, “Why then is faith so hard?”

I think it is because we are asked to believe in someone we can’t “see,” in beliefs that may not always seem “logical,” and to recognize our own weaknesses and dependence on a greater being. Many of these steps are the antithesis of what our secular culture values.

Discovering, developing and understanding my faith has been a great personal journey. On one hand, I realize how far I have traveled; on another, I see how far I have to go, especially in learning to trust completely in the timing of God. I recently shared my thoughts on faith with a young man at work who does not believe. He is a very intelligent and thoughtful young man who has a wonderful future in sales. However, he simply can get past the idea of believing in something that he can’t experience with his five senses. In fact he said, “It’s like asking someone to buy something they’ve never seen.” I had to agree.

However, there are many things we believe in that we can’t see, touch, taste, hear, or feel. For example, when we wake up in the morning and take our first conscious breath, we “believe” that it will be safe for us to do so. Why? Simply because it has been so in the past. So it is with God. He has proven to be faithful for centuries for others, why not me? It is not such a long leap after all. I’m glad he agreed. Don’t you?