Verse of the Day 3/29

Verse of the Day 3/29

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.   English Standard Version (ESV)

Most would agree that the most well known verse in the Bible is John 3:16 which tell us that "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son" and that whoever believes; puts their faith and trust in Him will not perish, but will have eternal, everlasting life.

I read today's verse yesterday and following Easter and the previous week the verse had additional meaning and significance as I read it.  That "free gift" mentioned is the same gift from John 3:16, His Son Jesus.  He had to come and had to die according to God's plan, to redeem us, to pay the price, the penalty for all of our sin so that  we could have everlasting life.  It is not only talking about life after death, but this life begins the day that we receive that gift and His Spirit takes up residence in our hearts.

Take some time this morning and possibly at different points  in your busy day to grasp the enormity of this short verse, probably one of the easiest verses in the Bible to memorize.  Even though we've fallen short of His standards, "missed the mark" (see Romans 3:23), He loved us so much that He would go to such lengths to bring us salvation, a way out from the pitfalls of sin and shame of ignoring Him.  We couldn't get there on our own, but He bridged that gap, that great chasm for us.

"A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! "  (The Message)  That is the gift that is offered to you. Have you received it, are you living it?  If not, there's no time like today to receive it.  "God's gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master".   (The Message).  May the short passage from The Message below help you to appreciate it and praise God for it.

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Romans 6:20-23The Message (MSG)

^20-21 As long as you did what you felt like doing, ignoring God, you didn't have to bother with right thinking or right living, or right anything for that matter. But do you call that a free life? What did you get out of it? Nothing you're proud of now. Where did it get you? A dead end.

^22-23 But now that you've found you don't have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God's gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.