Despite all of this, when God looks at me, he sees a saint. Romans 5:8 says that, "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Because of Christ's death on the cross, I am justified and purified by his blood. As II Corinthians 5:21 says, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
When I look back on my life, Jesus has been beside me on my journey the entire time. I see how through the trials I've gone through--at the hands of others, through the illnesses and deaths of ones I have loved, by my own rebellious acts, that God was working. He has never wasted a single hurt, but rather has used them to soften my heart, creating in me patience, mercy, kindness, peace and love. I am ever awed and humbled that the Creator of the Universe would care for and continue to invest in me.
I stand before you, my brothers and sisters, as a sinner-saint. I'm broken with sin, but through my brokenness shines the light of Christ. I, who was once hopeless, through the resurrection of Christ, have been given a hope and longing for the glory of heaven. My heart passionately proclaims Job 19:25-27, "For I know that my redeemer lives and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh, I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes--I and not another. How my heart yearns within me."
I am here to express to you my desire to follow Christ in perfect obedience and to do the work he has set before me until the day he gives me rest. God, give me, through your spirit, courage and pliability to keep this vow to you.
