This picture was taken by my sister when she flew from Manchester to Singapore en route to Australia last summer. ‘Man’ and ‘sin’ are such simple words, yet the revelation they bring is profound. This is what it means:
Every man was born with sin. Romans 2:23 says: “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” But thankfully, it doesn’t end there.
Sin’s power has been broken by God, who declares that we are righteous by sending his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for us. He took on ALL our sins so that we can be made right with God when we confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead.
And why is this important at all, you may ask? Because “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). I, for one, would like to know where I’ll end up after this mortal body expires. I want to know that there is more to life than just living and breathing, and that I would not just terminate like a black screen after a film, or slide into some kind of never-ending ‘black hole’.
Taking this small step is the biggest and best decision I have ever made. Christ died for everyone, regardless of race, nationality, cultural background, social status, education, interests and all man-made categories that have been imposed on us through society.
To know that I was created for his purpose, to be loved and nurtured by him all the days of my life, is the most valuable piece of information I have learnt. This surpasses all intelligence, clever arguments and philosophies anyone or anything else can teach me.
The only opinions I seek are those of his, and I choose to live everyday according to what he thinks about me. This is who he says I am, according to Romans 8.
So now there is no condemnation in me, who belongs to Christ Jesus. And because I belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed me from the power of sin that leads to death… And Christ lives within me, so even though my body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives me life because I have been made right with God… I have not received a spirit that makes me a fearful slave. Instead, I received God’s Spirit when he adopted me as his own child. Now I call him, “Abba, Father.” … And since I am his child, I am his heir. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.
Wan Phing Lim 