I'm a planner, and it's always gratifying when the last plane ticket and hotel room have been booked and the last excursion tickets reserved for my trip. At that point there is nothing left to do but patiently wait until Departure Day arrives. Oh, wait, maybe, I forgot to mention a few other things — like getting the house ready for my absence, cancelling services, and then, packing! Anyway, we all know about the hard work required to make a trip or vacation go smoothly.

If it takes this much thought and effort for us to make plans just for our own individual circumstances, imagine the planning that was involved for God to create our universe. He planned and executed every detail from the immensity of unfathomable space to the miniscule building blocks of all creation.

God's work in creation, nonetheless, wasn't the greatest of His feats of planning. All of us who have entered into His family through faith can acknowledge that His greatest plan of all was His means of providing our salvation. Try to imagine God's thought process in devising a way to bridge the gap between sinful humanity and His perfection.

We know of rare cases where an innocent person has volunteered to take punishment or prosecution for someone else, thus taking their place. This is exactly what Jesus, the Son of God clothed in a human body, did for us when He died on the cross to pay the penalty of sin for all mankind. This is sometimes referred to as "substitutionary atonement".

Romans 3:25a – For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. (NLT)

What Jesus did on the cross for us, however, isn't automatically conferred on everyone. God's plan requires that we guilty sinners must receive by faith this payment for sin. We owe nothing for that costly action. It is free of charge for all, but we must individually receive it through believing in Jesus' substitutionary act.

Hebrews 9:15b – For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed. (NLT)

Although God required payment for sin, He Himself made that payment through the death of His Son. What an amazing, carefully devised plan and system of justice that works fully for our benefit, while satisfying God's just requirement!

Romans 5:6 – When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. (NLT)

We owe boundless thanks to God for making such a plan for us from beginning to end. Thank Him with me:

Prayer: Dear gracious Father, thank You for all You did in both devising a plan and then providing a solution for our need when You sent Jesus to die in our place. We are eternally grateful. Amen.

Forward this devotional     Share on Facebook

About the author:

Gail Lundquist <gail10833@gmail.com>
Beaverton, Oregon, USA
Send your feedback to the author