Martin Luther said:
Now, we are sure that Christ pleases God, that he is holy and so on. Inasmuch, then, as Christ pleases God and we are in him, we also please God and are holy.
Although sin still remains in us, and although we daily fall and offend, grace is more abundant and stronger than sin. The mercy and truth of the Lord reign over us forever. Therefore, sin cannot make us afraid or make us doubt God’s mercy in us. For Christ, that most mighty giant, has abolished the law, condemned sin, and vanquished death and all evils.
So long as he is at the right hand of God making intercession for us, we cannot doubt God’s grace and favor toward us.
Isn’t this beautiful? And none of it has a bit to do with my performance–how “good” I am, how well I do the “church girl” gig. It is all about Christ’s “performance” on the cross and God’s kindness in attributing to me (because he wants to) all of Christ’s righteousness. A great exchange–my “junk” for His beauty!
No matter what I do, how much I mess up, over-schedule, over-stress, under-achieve…God looks upon me with pleasure. Wow.
If I really believed this, I wonder how it might impact me?
