12/26/2023 - The Day After Christmas; Are We Worthy?
Are we worthy of forgiveness? Are we worthy of the sacrifice that God made by giving His only Son to die for our sins? Are we worthy of an audience with the creator of the universe? Are we worthy of forgiveness? There are so many questions like this that most of us would answer with a resounding “NO!”, but is that really true?
“Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:”
2 Thessalonians 1:11 KJV
Worthy is one of those words that we place an inappropriate meaning upon. We are inclined to view being worthy as being perfect, already complete in some way, but that is not what it means at all. The definition of worthy is “having or showing qualities or abilities that merit recognition or consideration.” This doesn’t mean that we are necessarily perfect, no, it only implies that there is some quality about us that brings with it a reason to hope that we will, or could be. To give an example, we may be worthy of a spot on the starting football team, but as of yet we haven’t earned it. In other words there are things about us that merit consideration, that show the coach promise, but we are not good enough for that honor yet.
We are worthy of forgiveness, but that doesn’t mean that we have achieved perfection. Let’s look at how Jesus handled the adulteress on the Mount of Olives. This woman was anything but perfect; she had been caught in the act of adultery, and brought before Jesus... so was she worthy of forgiveness? Listen as Jesus speaks to her after sending away her accusers...
“Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."
John 8:10-11 ESV
This woman was far from perfect, and had been caught red handed in the act of sinning, but Jesus saw something in her that made her worthy of His forgiveness. He saw hope, and had some feeling which made her worthy in His eyes of this judgement; of her forgiveness.
My friends, if we have to be perfect, if we must already be free of sin before we are considered worthy... then none of us has a chance. None of us will ever be forgiven. Yet, God has looked at us and deemed us to be worthy. He sent His Son to live amongst us, to show us He cared, He sent Him to defeat the Sin in us, to suffer, die, and to provide for our forgiveness. The Creator of the Universe has judged us to be worthy. God didn’t send Jesus because we were perfect, He sent Him because we showed promise... He sent Him because He found us to be worthy of saving.
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Romans 8:1 ESV
In Jesus we have moved from a state of worthiness into one of purity... perfection... in the eyes of God. We can “go and sin no more” not because of our perfection, but because we are worthy and filled with the hope of Christ. We can sin no more because of the sacrifice Jesus has made for us, and because of His perfection that now paints over our sins... all of this because God sees hope in us, and finds us, undeserving as we are, worthy of His grace.
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 2:4-7 ESV
I ask that none of us ever say again that we are unworthy. We can say that we are undeserving because we are imperfect, but if God Himself has demonstrated that He finds us worthy... then who are we to say “no I am not! I am unworthy?”
Today we might feel far away from God. Today, right now, we might find ourselves accused and condemned by those around us, but even now we are worthy in the eyes of God. Can we trust in His judgement? Can we accept Him, His Son, and the grace He has for us? Can we lay down our shame and accept the forgiveness Jesus has suffered to offer us? Can we grasp the fact that He finds us worthy to love, and saving, despite the fact that we are undeserving? Well we should grasp it... listen to these words of Jesus:
“"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:16-17 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for finding me, in my undeserving nature and state, worthy of your Son’s sacrifice, and through His blood, your forgiveness. I thank you for seeing in me a glimmer of hope and promise that makes me worthy, in your eyes, of love and grace. Help me Father to believe that I am worthy, even though I know how undeserving I am of you. This morning I may be condemned by men, but by accepting your Son Jesus Christ as my savior, and you as my God, I can accept the fact that I am worthy, and walking from this place forgiven by you; prepared to sin no more. Thank you for finding me worthy, and know that I find you not only worthy, but deserving of my love, worship, and faith. I praise your name Holy Father, and lift you up before all men and women... especially those who feel that you find them unworthy. Help me Lord to show them that they are worthy in your sight. Help me to teach them that they might be undeserving, but that you reach out to them because you see hope in them, and find them worthy of your forgiveness and grace.
Rich Forbes