Especially around holidays like July 4th in the United States, I think of all the sacrifices that have been made over the years for our freedom to do all the things we are able to do. No, the United States is not perfect, but we do enjoy much freedom that so many other countries do not. I get teary often as I think of others laying down their lives for complete strangers to them. I could never deserve or earn that gift. This thought always leads me to an even bigger sacrifice of love in which God engaged to free us from slavery to sin and death.
I was reading Titus (which I honestly haven’t read in quite a long time) and found this gem of a few verses that stood out. Apparently this is believed to be a part of an early church hymn or poem, and it sums up the story so beautifully.
When the extraordinary compassion of God our Savior and his overpowering love suddenly appeared in person as the brightness of a dawning day, he came to save us. Not because of any virtuous deed that we have done but only because of his extravagant mercy. He saved us, resurrecting us through the washing of rebirth. We are made completely new by the Holy Spirit, whom he splashed over us richly by Jesus, the Messiah, our Life Giver. So as a gift of his love, and since we are faultless—innocent before his face—we can now become heirs of all things, all because of an overflowing hope of eternal life. How true and faithful is this message! Titus 3:4-8
In this passage, the whole Trinity—Father, Son and Spirit—are involved in this great rescue plan. I love that this idea was birthed in extraordinary compassion and overpowering love. This was not motivated by guilt, or fear, or duty. God wanted relationship with us, and that love reached out to save us, no matter what that cost.
We can’t deserve or earn this sacrifice because we can’t be virtuous enough to earn it. Instead, He had extravagant mercy and saved us, birthing us again as a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). We have been made new, and are being made new. I think this refers to the renewing of the mind and sanctifying us that happens by the Holy Spirit’s work in us. We are new creations through Christ’s sacrifice and blood, and now we are constantly being freed from sin’s effects and control through the Holy Spirit’s constant splashing on us.
We are now faultless, innocent, completely untarnished. As my friend Brian Simmons says, “We have no past.” The past does not control us anymore because we are free from it. You might ask about the things you’ve done since you’ve known Jesus—well, those are covered too. You were just acting in a way that didn’t suit your new identity.
And not just that but we are now heirs of all things!! Not only are we made new, being made new and free from the past and the mess of sin, but we have been seated in the heavenlies as royalty with Christ. (Eph 2:6-7) We are not limited in our inheritance, but have been invited into overflowing hope of eternal life. He has given us ALL things.
So, how does this play out in our day today? When the struggles of life seem to drown us the moment we wake up, we acknowledge who we are—loved extravagantly and empowered by our position of being in Christ and having the whole Trinity walking with us. We give our problems and worries to God, knowing that we’ve never been strong enough to carry them, but He is. And we rise above the fray that surrounds us, knowing that we are not limited in our inheritance, but are approaching the problems of our lives from a position of strength in our Shepherd. If it were possible to mess it up so much that God would desert us, that would have already happened. Instead, He continues to act in extraordinary compassion, overpowering love, extravagant mercy and overflowing hope. What a beautiful God we have!