Uncovery: Rethinking Recovery One Day at a Timeنموونە

If you’ve run in Christian circles for any length of time, you’ve likely heard at least a sermon or two on the concept of identity, for better or worse. We’ve approached it from every human angle, every dogmatic doctrine, every bit of broken theology imaginable—and we’ve missed the beautiful simplicity of it all.

We can’t possibly know who we are without first knowing whose we are. When counseling people who struggle with addiction, mental health problems, and suicidal thoughts, we often share these three principles to lay a foundation for physical and spiritual healing:

1. Jesus paid it all.

2. You’re one with the Father.

3. The Holy Spirit is always working.

To some, this may seem basic, but anything else is extra. The beauty of the simple gospel is this: you’re already forgiven.

One thing stands true about the love and grace of God: from a human perspective, it’s nothing short of reckless. God didn’t wait for us to follow the Law to the letter. He didn’t wait until we sacrificed enough offerings to get right with Him. He didn’t even wait for us to repent and turn to Him. He knew that, left to our own devices, we would destroy one another and be separated from Him forever. And He wasn’t having it!

Our good Father God put on flesh, lived a perfect, sinless life to show us what we are capable of in Him, and died a criminal’s death in our place—while we were still sinners. All so we could be with Him—a perfect and holy God—after we’d been washed clean by the blood of Jesus, a perfect and holy sacrifice. This scandal of grace gets to us every time.

Jesus paid it all for you, and there’s literally nothing you could ever do to earn it or repay Him. It’s finished! That’s the kind of mercy and grace that lead people to repentance—and it’s available to you today.

God, are You really this good? Please reveal Yourself and show me how much You love me. Thank You for paying it all for me on the cross. Remind me how forgiven I really am. Amen.