“But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.” (Romans 5:15-16 NLT)
If you are a Baby Boomer, know that I remember you in the 1970’s. Yes, I remember you in the day when the bigger your afro the better or if your ethnicity was perhaps different, the longer your hair the better. I remember you in your dashiki and wild color shirts, coordinated with faded jeans with flair bottoms. I sat in the classrooms with you wearing my leather cap cocked to the side, quite hot and uncomfortable, but I was not going to show that I was bothered. You who are not Baby Boomers have seen movies of that era and if you have not, you can find anything on the Internet. Was it you with the military style man bag or women’s purse? There was a poem and a song written by Gold Scott-Herron around those times, entitled “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” Do you remember that piece?
Well this morning, especially in view of the times in which we live and in recognition that these days, things online can be misconstrued, let me make my purpose known behind today’s meditation. My purpose is to encourage believers to be more out in the open about our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and more apt to openly express the fact that our eternal future, surely glorious one, is because of the sacrifice our Savior made on the cross; dying for our sins, paying the price for our transgression, and providing us with hope for a brighter day ahead.
I was watching the evening news on a cable network last week. It was Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent; a time where many Christians focus on repenting, fasting, reflecting; all leading up to Resurrection Morning where Jesus was raised from the dead. Ash Wednesday is always 46 days before Resurrection Morning, referred to be many as Easter. As I watched the news personality, I noticed he still had a grey colored cross drawn on his forehead in ashes. Now I have often heard him make statements of faith and bring God into the menu of topics, but Wednesday he made one statement that touched my spirit. I cannot remember it word for word, but in effect he was pointing to the fact that no person on earth would have hope without, in his words, “the act of one man,” referring to the Lord Jesus Christ who died for us while we were yet sinners. Oh, I started hearing, “The only hope we have is in Christ Jesus” play in the musical lobe of my brain and I heard “All sin and fall short of the glory of God” in another lobe of my brain. Whatever part of my brain that controls the movement of my head, had me shaking my head up and down, agreeing that salvation is only possible through Jesus. I was proud of his boldness.
Isn’t it amazing? On national news, a place where we hear all the things going on about the pandemic, the political world, and the procrastination that is withholding help from the poor; on national news, salvation was televised! You should be smiling about right now! Patience, I have only three more things to say! First, thank God for sending Jesus: the way, the truth, and the life. Second, thank God for giving the news personality the platform and the willingness to attest to the truth. Third, thank God for all of us who on this day are moved to stop hiding our faith and hopefully have been helped to find the courage to be what we were deputized to be, “His witnesses!” Is there a better time than now to use our own individual platforms? We just need to act on it and speak up! Have a great start to your week and remember, even if it is a figurative screen that you appear on, “The Salvation Must Be Televised.” Be blessed!
“…but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 NASB)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King