I deserved Condemnation

Romans 8:1-4

My dad was a disciplinarian, if we broke his laws or rules you could bet my dad was going to enforce and bring you to repentance.  I believe 98% of the time he was fair, and I will never forget the grace extended to me as a senior in high school.  It was close to the end of the school year, all my buddies were making plans to go to college and I had no plans, in fact I was one half credit short of being able to graduate.  One of these soon to be graduates came up with a plan to skip School on Friday and go to the river and fish and maybe have a few beers to help out our fishing trip.  They had it all wired, their girl friends who worked in the office would make sure we were all shown as present and accounted for, and they did for everyone but me.  No girl friend!

When I got home mother informed me that I had been caught and the school was requiring my dad to come with me to see the vice principle Mr. Alley on Monday morning.  Now my dad knew Mr. Alley and to say he was not happy about going to see him under such circumstances, is an understatement.  My school history was not one my dad talked to his friends about, I was not a good student, for you see I was not a student, I was more like many in the job market, showing up and looking for the day I could retire from school.

The most amazing thing happened, dad had not said a word to me on the way to school and I can assure you it was not I who was going to break the silence.  The two men exchanged greetings and I said two men for if the guy sitting next to me was my dad something had transformed him, maybe he had done some reflecting on being a boy, not sure but this came out of his mouth; J.P. boys will be boys and I can promise you this will not happen again.  No punishment, not from Mr. Alley or my dad, grace was extended to me on that day.  I was wondering who was this man leaving the office with me, until we got into the outer hall way, and my dad looked at me and said, “you will never put me in that situation again, you do understand,” and he went home and I went to class.

Now on that day I deserved condemnation, I had broken many rules or laws, I was guilty, but instead of punishment grace was extended.  That is what Jesus Christ has done, we all have sinned and fallen short, we all tried to get our needs met outside of Christ, we all had the desire of being the “lord of the ring.”

Ponder on these verses; “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:2-4)

In a hotel in Victoria, Texas, at the age of 27, by faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross I received life.  Life for the now and for eternity, I checked in the hotel as a Baptist and came out a new creation in Christ.  My failure will no longer separate me from the love of the Father.  I’m a child of the King with Jesus my Savior, I’m a child of the King.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice