I am more evil than I have ever thought, and more loved than I have ever hoped!

I am more evil than I have ever feared, and more loved than I have ever hoped. -Mark Driscoll

Today, I decided to start a new book Death By Love by Mark Driscoll. I usually journal on Scripture but this phrase has been stuck in my head all day and felt the prompting for the Holy Spirit to write. When I was a child I remember my mom coming home and telling me to do my jobs for the day. I hated my jobs. They included taking out the garbage, emptying the dish washer, and wiping down the blinds so dust wouldn't build up. My least favorite of these three was the blinds. I remember looking at the blinds and thinking that there are too many blinds and how much work it would take to clean.

I remember one particular day, I came home from college to visit my parents and still 14 years later they wanted me to wash down the blinds. I grabbed a rag and started washing down the blinds that looked like they just had been washed down. I began to wipe down the blinds left to right, moving down making sure I cleaned each frame. It is interesting that they looked clean, but when I got done the rag was covered in dirt and dust. And then I noticed that the sun had gotten brighter revealing more dirt and dust. I remember thinking to myself that it is impossible to clean these blinds, and I was right.

See, we are the blinds. As followers of Christ, we may look clean but on closer examination we find that we are corrupt and often the worst of sinners. And as we get closer to the Light of the World our Savior Jesus, more areas of our life is exposed. I thought about this story and I thought about Christ. I think about how for 3 hours as Christ hung on the tree darkness swept over the earth. The sun disappeared as the Light of the World was being vanquished. I think about my sin and the corruptness of my heart that was taken upon Christ. And as He hung on the cross, taken my sin, taking my place, He was giving up the very dignity and honor that only a prince would receive. I think about my dirt and how much Jesus could love someone like me. I am more evil than I have ever feared, and More loved than I have ever hoped! Praise God for the gift of salvation and the ability to have a relationship with the Creator of the Universe. Praise God that when it looked like Satan had won and that the Light of the World was almost vanquished that Jesus rose three days later claiming his Honor and Dignity, Power and Promise that He is the Son of the One true Living God!