Lucky

“Did you hear about the classified ad that read something like this: “Lost – One dog. Brown hair with several mange spots. Right leg broken due to auto accident. Rear left hip hurt. Right eye missing. Left ear bitten off in dog fight. Answers to name ‘Lucky.'” Lucky? Of course! That was a lucky dog. He was lucky because, with all those things wrong with him, somebody still wanted him and was willing to pay to get him back. Isn’t that the story of the gospel? With all of our sin and rebellion, God still loved us enough to pay the ultimate price to win us back to Himself” (preaching.com).

Spiritually speaking, we are the “Lucky” of our own story. According to the apostle Paul, God didn’t love us and Christ didn’t die for us because we were so desirable. No, we were a mess. “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him” (Romans 5:6–9). Did you catch the descriptors in that passage? God’s classified ad would read: “Lost -- One human. Answers to any of the following names: Helpless. Ungodly. Sinner. Deserving of My wrath.”

Thankfully, unlike the dog of the opening story, we don’t stay the same ugly mutt after being found. No, we are transformed by the amazing love of God. The helpless one is no longer helpless. Ungodliness is replaced by holiness. A sinner becomes a saint. No longer is there any fear of being a target of God’s wrath. And there is no “luck” to it. It’s all due to the incredible, undeserved, and matchless love of God in Christ. And that, my friend, is something to bark about!

God loves you!

Mike