April 5, 2023

Jose Abaroa
"This is why 'it was credited to him as righteousness.' The words 'it was credited to him' were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification."
Romans 4:22-25

Every movie ends with a list of credits showing the names of the hundreds of people that made it all possible. Rightly so! Certainly, we should give credit where credit is due! I know a lot of individual and collective effort goes into coordinating all of the details to make a production happen; from writing the screenplay to directing and acting the different parts to post-production editing. Telling the story through a movie format is a process that involves a whole crew. The mystery of God, however, is that although we cannot earn God’s love, He freely loves us and credits His righteousness over to us. In other words, God is righteously righteousing us, unrighteous people.

I see this in my story when I think about the times I turned my back to God. Early in my college days, I was busy chasing fulfillment and satisfaction in various different directions that did not involve God. Thanks be to God that one day, when invited to a Community Group, I witnessed firsthand what it looked like to live in response to the love of God, instead of living in order to earn God’s love. Before I knew it, I was underwater getting baptized and beginning to live my life as a new creation in Christ. Today, I am grateful for the supporting cast of people that God used to wake me up and help me become who God made me to be.

Most importantly, all credit goes to the One who was “delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” The Author, Perfecter, and Director of my life. Hallelujah!