A few weeks ago, we sang this old familiar hymn at church. On this Easter, the words are especially poignant.
I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”
For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim,
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.
And now complete in Him
My robe His righteousness,
Close sheltered ’neath His side,
I am divinely blest.
Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone.
When from my dying bed
My ransomed soul shall rise,
“Jesus died my soul to save,”
Shall rend the vaulted skies.
And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
I’ll lay my trophies down
All down at Jesus’ feet.
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.
Jesus Paid it All, words by Elvina M. Hall, 1865, Music by John T. Grape
Our separation from God need not be a permanent condition. After sin and death entered our world through our own disobedience, God’s plan for our redemption was set into motion. In Genesis 3, God promises the “he” who would defeat death and bring us back into communion with God. This however would not come without a great cost, and it would be God himself who would bear the expense. Jesus came to pay a debt he did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay. When we put our faith in Christ, he covers us with his own righteousness so that we can stand before the throne of God as if we’d never sinned. Our slate is wiped clean, and our death sentence is rescinded. And that is worth celebrating this Easter!
On the journey toward Home,
