No one can be
established through wickedness, but the righteous cannot be uprooted.
For those of us living as ones considered to be part of the righteous,
this does not mean that we will live a life of complete peace, unscathed, happy
all the time, never wrinkled, bruised or burned. For even though we profess
faith in Christ, we still live in a broken world as broken people. And at times
that broken world will succeed at taking its pound of flesh from us. At times
that broken world will succeed in leading us into sin, trying its hardest to drive
a wedge between us and God. We are only seen as “the righteous” because of our
belief that Jesus…the perfect man, God in the flesh…took the punishment that we
were due. It’s not because of anything we have accomplished. It’s not because of
the list of “good deeds” that we have accumulated, or the number of prayers we
have prayed, or the number of times we have attended church on Sunday’s. All of
that has merit, but it doesn’t achieve salvation…it doesn’t wash away the years
of sins that we have accumulated…it doesn’t reconcile our relationship with God
or bridge the gap that was created when sin entered the world. Only Christ can
achieve that…only Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection three days later
achieves OUR righteousness. When this life comes to a close…when the curtains
close, when the road comes to an end, and the lights finally dim…we will stand
before the Father as either the righteous or the wicked. We will either stand
before the Father as one that Christ calls his own…one that Christ recognizes
as a believer…or one that Christ does not recognize…one that failed to profess
his name while in this life and refused to recognize him as the one and only
Savior. When we live a life rooted in Christ, we cannot be pulled from the soil
and scattered in the wind. No matter what comes at us in this life, if we
choose to remain deeply invested in our faith in Christ, nothing will shake our
foundation and nothing will loosen God’s promise. And when it all comes to a close,
we will stand firm in that promise that God handed out through Christ…and the wicked…they
will be like dust in the wind, uprooted and tossed into the fire. I pray that
with each new day, we truly profess our faith in Christ, refusing to let go of
the one true hope that we have in this life. And in the end, we will experience
the incredible gift that God hands down to those he sees as righteous. To God alone be the glory!
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