20 God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Grace Abounds
I have a friend who is starting a church in Las Vegas. He was a fairly successful church planter in Virginia Beach. That church grew fairly quickly. Heck, he even wrote a book. But then, he felt God leading him to take his wife, two kids, and his “stupid dog” and move to Vegas. To start a church. On the strip. You know that strip. You can read about his adventures by clicking here. Keep him in your prayers.
I went to Vegas as part of my twenty-five day road trip. You can read about my experience in Vegas here. But, for those too lazy to click on the link, let me sum it up by saying that it was obvious to me why they call it “sin city.” It was also very obvious that there is a lot of pain and hurt in Vegas. The Vegas strip is all about hiding from the pain and hurt. Pushing it down. Pretending that life is just a party and who cares about the issues that keep trying to surface. Gamble, drink, and snort them away.
It’s a city like Vegas that makes me love this passage even more. The more people sin, the more evident the grace of God is revealed. The more people try to hide their pain, the more God wants to penetrate the broken heart and pour in his hope. It’s why Vegas needs someone as God-loving as my friend. To bring a message of hope.
But if we’re honest, pointing to Vegas when we talk about people sinning more is really a cop-out. After all, those people who are sinning more in Vegas? They’re not usually from Vegas. They’re from your town. And mine. In some cases, they may even be you or me. They come from all over the world. Why? Because all over the world there are people who sin more, cry more, despair more. People who need the grace of God to abound more.
I’m so thankful that God doesn’t get scared when he sees a lot of sin. He doesn’t cower when the level of sinfulness rises. Instead, he just shows up with even more grace. More mercy. More hope. More love. He’s bigger than anything that can try to come against his message. And that’s good news.
My prayer: Lord, I’m so glad that even in my darkest of days, you are there. When sin seems to overwhelm me, you are there. When all seems lost, you are there. Your grace abounds even more. And more. And more. I take hope in that today. I celebrate your grace. I’m amazed. Amen.
Until tomorrow.
