Michael Boggs, More Like A Lion - The Overflow DevoSample

Alive

I recently heard a Ravi Zacharias sermon where he quoted a wonderful and brilliant writer by the name of G.K. Chesterton. Chesterton said these poignant words:

“Jesus did not come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people come alive.”

Those words stopped me in my tracks. The reason why is because the beauty of the gospel is that for believers, we are alive! We were once dead in our sin. We were unable to breathe, move or pull ourselves out of the mess we were in. We were D-E-A-D, dead! But because Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6), He is able to offer us that same life.

Salvation isn’t a story about how we came to God, it’s a story about how God has come to us and how we responded to Him. We have life because of Jesus and His mercy and grace.

When we think about what Jesus did for us on the cross, it’s not just about making us better people. To clarify, following Jesus should make us better people. We should be the most kind, serving, humble, loving, compassionate and honest people on the planet. Our neighborhoods, city streets, schools, businesses and overall environments should be better because Christians are there. But Jesus didn’t come to just modify behavior or help us become nicer people. He came to make us alive.

So if you’re a believer, I encourage you to live as though you are alive in Christ. Live as though you’re a prisoner that has been set free. Live as if God in His graciousness has breathed life into your dead soul. Then everything we do becomes a response to the merciful act of saving us.

I agree with Chesterton.

Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people come alive.